


Soldier

by Oldine



Series: Birches Grow [17]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 18:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 46,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10972629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oldine/pseuds/Oldine
Summary: Torchwood faces the truth behind many of their problems in the last year and a half. There is a lot more going on than biomechs, alien drugs and a crazy future Torchwood psychic trying to fix the past. What destroyed another universe? What is Oldaria hiding by Antarctica?





	1. Chapter 1

“Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.”

Sun Tzu

 

** Whitehall Cabinet Building; London, England **

** Monday, January 18, 2021 **

Keara Montfert, the soldier, stopped outside the door to compose herself. She secured the entire building to protect herself and everyone in it if needed. After everything, barging in on the Prime Minister shouldn’t have her heart racing. She chided herself and opened the door. 

Hazel Bransom sat at an antique table in a small meeting room. The decorations were subtle and regal clashing with Keara’s intentions. Government leaders rarely understood reasonable plans and common sense. They needed to believe in their judgment to serve. Often they had high opinions of themselves. Bransom was no exception.

The Prime Minister looked up in puzzlement as Keara crossed the room. “Who are you?”

“I represent a Torchwood faction. When the Institute fell, Captain Harkness believed that Cardiff was the only remaining office. It’s not.”

Branson reached for her mobile.

“Ma’am, your phone doesn’t work. Which is part of the point I came here today to make. Even the prime minister’s security is wholly unprepared for the technology available on the planet.”

She glanced at her mobile before folding her hands in front of her. “What do you want?”

Keara pulled a chair back from the table and sat. “The Torchwood Institute needs to be rebuilt and funded. As Captain Harkness is the most visible and experienced with the public, he needs to be in charge. I suspect there is already an oversight argument. When Queen Victoria founded Torchwood she wanted to defend Great Britain from alien threats. The current situation is beyond the scope of one small island on a very big planet. The Caribbean and Greenland facilities should illuminate that.”

“Why isn’t Captain Harkness here?”

“He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Bransom nodded. “Why would I agree to this?”

“By now you’re aware of the alien spaceship that prevented an attack on a Torchwood operation involving the bioweapon in Cardiff. That’s my ship. What you don’t know is Torchwood, my Torchwood, has an orbiting space station, satellite network, and multiple ships.” Keara took a moment. “We’re in position to defend the planet, but need planetside resources.”

“Prove it.”

Keara smiled. Energy matter transfer was simple enough.

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Witnessing Earth through an observation port for the first time was impressive. As expected, the prime minister stared through the clear metal with the awe of a child eying a gourmet candy store for the first time. The bland recreational room made a point without endangering any of the station’s secrets. 

Bransom turned away from the view and asked, “Why is this necessary?” 

“Corporations are making backroom deals with aliens. The bioweapon was created by imprisoning and experimenting on alien sea creatures. It’s unknown where they obtained their information. The Caribbean island situation went badly because the same company experimenting on children had a concealed military facility producing genetically modified soldiers.” Keara paused. “Torchwood is Earth’s defense against aliens and itself.”

“The financial burden belongs to the world not just Great Britain.”

“Yes. There are ways to make that happen. Currently we’re confiscating hidden corporate holdings of companies involved with unwilling experimentation. Moss-Probert and Cattrel Industries are publicized examples.”

“Cattrel? They bred alien reptiles in captivity.”

“Sentient alien reptiles. When Captain Harkness and an associate arrived on-site, a car-sized dragon was attacking the company. The creature intentionally spared emergency responders. When Torchwood launched an attack to gain access to the building, the dragon understood and helped. When the younger creatures were free, and flying away, the adult left. From what Torchwood has determined from reviewing information on the dragons, the females lay eggs similar to turtles and leave them. The adult responded to some type of SOS and took the actions necessary to free the captives.”

“I didn’t receive that information.” Bransom crossed her arms.

Keara nodded. “What you also didn’t receive was the full assessment of the Greenland situation. The facility was using unstable alien technology to harness geothermal energy and had an alien pen underneath. The island was destroyed. The aliens were safely relocated.”

“Relocated? Where?”

“Another planet where they are safe from the humans that abused them.”

“This…” Bransom shook her head.

“I know. It will take time to process.” Keara motioned toward Earth. “Throughout history humans have committed unthinkable acts against each other. Nothing I have mentioned or witnessed hasn’t played out in history repeatedly in one form or another.”

“I need more information.”

Keara opted for the simplest details to understand. “An air strike in the Republic of Ireland destroyed a facility behind the terror attack on Blanchardstown Mall. The former MP facility is currently housing innocent children exposed to the bioweapon and adults involved with exposing children. Both have resulted in The Hague sending investigators.” She took a moment. “When you took office, did the possibility of a war crimes investigation in Great Britain or even the region occur to you?”

“No.”

 

** Whitehall Cabinet Building; London, England **

Keara carried a laptop when they returned. The discussion was far from over, but visuals would help. One of the ironies of time travel is she could easily design Torchwood London as she’s already seen the facility. Indications of other time travelers and practicalities resulted in layout changes. It also meant using alternative means of construction. She needed to discuss maintenance bot modifications with John. 

“These images are what Torchwood London will look like.” She set the laptop on the table facing the chair Bransom used previously

The prime minister sat. “How do you intend to establish a global law enforcement entity with no government oversight?”

“Torchwood is one.” Keara returned to the table. “Both the 456 and Miracle Day situations proved the need.”

Bransom sighed. “I don’t have the authority to do this.”

“Rebuilding the Torchwood Institute has already been discussed. We have the technology to build it at minimal cost.” Using maintenance bots and Four’s replication technology, they could turn a landfill and a couple junk yards into the facility. “Get the construction authorized, and we’ll take it from there.”

“That could be viewed as treason.”

Keara nodded. “Captain Harkness has already proven his capability of doing this without threatening the government or whatever political argument is made against him. Torchwood saved the world’s children after the government tried to kill the Cardiff team. Torchwood ended Miracle Day that was designed to make global profits through eliminating the need for prescriptions for medication.”

“It’s a dangerous amount of power to give one man.”

“He already has it, ma’am.”

“What do you have?” Bransom asked.

“Enough technology to create an unconventional protection force unlike the world has ever seen.” Keara paused. “Torchwood is a strange life. People join for any number of reasons. When the Institute existed, people applied at human resources. Most worked nine-to-five jobs. Currently, agents are discovered during crisis situations and recruited to combat the next crises.” Keara paused. “One location is run by a man whose husband sacrificed himself to save the world. Another office was run by a teenager for years after his parents were killed in a failed attack on the facility. An almost inaccessible location is run by a traumatized combat vet that survived a genocide attempt against his own culture. We’re overworked, angry and broken. Torchwood London offers an opportunity to change that.”

“How do I sell it to Parliament?” 

“Our government has been protecting the planet since Victorian times. The world should know that.”

Bransom smiled. “Appeal to their arrogance and ego-centrism?”

“Yes, ma’am.”


	2. Chapter 2

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

** Monday, January 25, 2021 **

Jack Harkness entered Ianto’s office. The morning had already been a frustrating mix of politics and mundane complications with Prime Minister Bransom and Parliament discussing rebuilding the Institute again. The approached changed. Bransom decided his past experience with Torchwood qualified him to manage it. She added ideas for creating jobs in London and showing the world Great Britain’s accomplishments. 

“Have you seen the news?” Ianto looked exasperated.

“No. Why?”

He held out a tablet as Jack crossed the room. “A new European news outlet did an expose on the American ex-pat working with the British to save the world.”

Jack accepted it and continued around the desk. “That fits with what the PM said this morning.”

“No. It references the government ordered attack on the hub.”

Jack sat on the edge of the desk and read the article. It didn’t long to realize the journalist had inside information. The differences between what actually happened and the new account were impressive. The government supposedly killed his grandson Stephen during the conflict over complying with the 456’s demand for children. Alice, Ianto and the Williamses went into hiding for their own safety. A funeral was held for Ianto to protect his sister and her family. After ten years, and significant changes in government, Torchwood rebuilt the Cardiff office with magic-like technology. When the threat from the government lessened, Ianto returned from hiding still haunted by the 456 situation.

“An alien attack on the planet rewritten as a tragic love-story,” Ianto shook his head. “The journalist has read too many historical romances.”

“The Kearas did this. It cleans up loose ends. With this distributed, no one with contradicting information will be taken seriously.”

“After seeing that, I looked for other articles. There is a similar one about Rex during Miracle Day without naming him. The theme is the same. A CIA agent risked everything to do what had to be done. He took on the establishment that committed crimes against the American people. His woman was killed gruesomely in retaliation. In short, he’s Jack Bauer.”

Jack smiled. “He’ll call Gwen and demand answers.” 

A computer notification chimed. Ianto checked it, and the humor drained from his face. “Jack. A bomb threat in Antwerp resulted in the discovery of aerosol dispersal units.”

Jack quickly found his mobile. “I need as much information about that location as you can find. Call Luc and get drones in the air.”

Ianto checked his watch. “I need to call Dublin. Kailen and Luc may have school.”

Jack slid off the desk as he dialed Gwen’s number. She spent more time working with law enforcement than any of them. They needed details. He realized as it rang that he probably needed a translator. That meant Dmitri needed to go with him to Belgium. More reason for Gwen to stay in Cardiff and coordinate with law enforcement. She would not be happy.

 

** Amour Bonheur Léger; Antwerp, Belgium **

By the time Jack Harkness arrived by portal device with Dmitri, the situation had exploded on the Internet. He suspected the local police attempted to control information to avoid a media circus. A bomb threat against a building containing possible bioweapon dispersal devices suggested a whistle-blower. When the local police didn’t react the way the caller intended, he or she provided details to the media. Or a second whistle-blower leaked the information.

An international charity owned and operated the building. An attempt to conceal the situation didn’t mean they were guilty. If it was set-up, as the nonprofit already claimed, they were well-established and could pull strings. Alternatively, the known corporations, including Gordon-Glen, had government and law enforcement connections. Figuring out what type of connections was one of many problems.

“Belgium’s primary language is Dutch. Half the population speaks Dutch. I don’t.” Dmitri sounded nervous. “French is the other major language. I can speak it fluently and can translate.”

Gwen’s local contact offered to send information ahead. Inspecteur Principal Celestine Sault coordinated among the multiple, on-site specialist teams. The bomb unit waited on stand-bye. Chemical weapons experts assessed the situation. When those groups completed their duties, local and federal police would be able to start the investigation.

“Let me start with French, Jack. Even if the officer speaks Dutch, he or she should recognize it, and hopefully understand we’re trying.”

“Have you spoken French since you arrived?” Jack asked. Dmitri had somehow been transported forward seventy years. The language would have changed since 1948.

“Yes.” He hesitated. “I date a woman, off and on, who’s into French.”

Jack laughed. 

They stepped from an alley beyond the police barricade. Jack hoped one of the investigator spoke English. Brussels had extensive ties to European organizations and the EU. Despite Brexit, English was a major global language. Ideally, the locals wouldn’t blame Torchwood for politics.

A young uniformed officer spotted them. He quickly said something over his radio. Since the alien spaceship over London, the 456 and Miracle Day, more and more people knew about Torchwood. Reactions varied. Jack didn’t have a lot of experience with Belgium law enforcement.

When a chief inspector approached, he recognized the two white crowns and blue insignia stripes indicating local police. She eyed them both and wrinkled her nose. Her distaste didn’t require translation.

Dmitri spoke in careful French. “Chief Inspector, I am Dr. Petrescu. This is Captain Jack Harkness. We’re from Torchwood.”

“I am Celestine Sault,” she replied in French. “Why are you here?”

“We received information tentatively connecting this company to a biological weapons investigation.”

“What information?”

Dmitri translated.

Jack explained the reported canisters. While few details about Noble Industries leaked to the media, it was known that Torchwood destroyed an entire building to contain a biological weapons threat. He added there was a known connection between the bioweapon and illegal medical experimentation on children. If the unit or units found in the charity building were the same technology, it connected Amour Bonheur Leger to an active Torchwood case.

“Is there a connection between the UK company and Belgium, Capitaine?” Sault asked in English.

“We don’t know.”

She nodded. “The canisters’ temperature setting and controls were altered.”

That fit with what Jack suspected. A whistle-blower exposed the charity to save lives not endanger them. “If it’s the same as Noble, the weapon has unusual properties. Changing the settings might not destroy it.”

“Our weapon’s expert disagrees.”

“It’s a bioengineered virus, Inspecteur Principal Sault,” Dmitri injected. “Normal viruses are complicated. The one from Noble Industries has no possible vaccine nor antidote. Exposure is contagious. The bodies of the dead have to be burned to prevent further exposure. It’s unknown how long the virus can survive without a living host.” He paused. “It’s not worth the risk, ma’am. We need to determine if it’s the same contagion as soon as possible.”

“Then what?” She asked. “Do you want to destroy the building?”

“If it’s the bioweapon, and it hasn’t been disabled, it could cause permanent injury or death to a significant portion of this community’s population,” Dmitri said. “The building is not worth the lives of your friends and neighbors.”

“You have a way with French-speaking women,” Jack said as Sault walked away.

Dmitri groaned. “At least they’re not psychotic, homicidal, and out to destroy part or all of the world.”

Jack laughed. “Ianto’s sane.”

“No, he’s not. He’s dating you.” Dmitri smiled.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Mondays even at Torchwood could try the patience of a saint. Ianto Jones had Michael and was trying to research Amour Bonheur Leger. The baby slept quietly while Gwen stalking around his office. When she stopped across from his desk, Ianto looked up. 

“Who gave the reporters my mobile number?” Gwen asked, exasperated.

Someone with a death wish. “I don’t know.”

“The Nova Scotia location has been leaked to the press. The RCMP is citing national security in response to information requests.” Gwen sat.

“The Kearas wouldn’t do that.”

“Who else knows? Luc’s cousins. RCMP.”

Ianto remembered the most recent Nova Scotia problem. “Luc and Eryn were attacked by a biomech a few days ago.”

“The Azrael situation.” Gwen ran a hand over her face. “The angel of death or Gargamel’s cat.” 

“Jack suspects Azrael is connected to future Aman’s network. The biomechs potentially link to the men who attacked Aman and Kailen’s wedding.” They targeted Aman because of a bizarre South American prophecy they’d been unable to track. A puzzle by itself considering Nigeria and Bashiri Oliveira assisted.

Gwen stared at the desk for a moment. “What does publicizing the Canadian location accomplish?”

“Exposing Luc’s robotics?” Ianto doubted it. 

“No.” She shook her head. “When the world governments realizes there’s a satellite network and an unknown space station in orbit, no one will be looking at teenagers in Nova Scotia.”


	3. Chapter 3

** The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada **

Villetta Thirion eyed the newcomer. When she asked Soldier Keara to explain, she said it was complicated. Kol Puzzo was definitely that. Unfortunately, his knowledge of anything she was working on was limited. He was familiar with advanced technology, and scan readings suggested his biomechanics were beyond the beiomechs found in the Caribbean. It explained why he’d been asked to review the readings from the bodies in Truro. But left her wondering why he needed to be in her facility to do it.

“I’m not invading.” His latest attempt to prove that was a Canadian accent similar to her own.

“You’re distracting.” 

Kol laughed. 

Ettie added annoying to the list of his offenses and tried to focus on spaceship propulsion. The Kearas wanted to recreated a replication facility similar to Four with more advanced options. Ettie suspected they wanted to assembly line a defensive fleet. There were problems with the alien ship Keara took from Wales. The other ship, that transported the aliens from Greenland, had more potential. She needed to understand her concerns to offer an explanation.

“Did you review the energy readings found near the bodies?”

“What?” Ettie looked up from her workstation.

“The killer left quantum energy footprints.”

Puzzled, Ettie stood and walked over to the station Kol commandeered. “Quantum entanglement?”

“No.” He motioned at the screen.

Ettie viewed the readings. “That doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head. “How were the biomechs killed?”

“Unknown.”

Ettie looked from the screen to Kol. “Unknown as in heart attack from probable poison or…”

“No.”

“What type of energy readings did the bodies have?”

“None.”

That took her a moment. “Luc stunned one.”

Kol shook his head. “No energy.”

“Biomechs can diffuse energy. 

“Not like that.” 

A crazy idea came to her. “Human beings have to have small amounts of electricity to function. Depending on circumstances, we can act as a capacitor.” She hesitated. “If the killer absorbed or redirected the biomech’s energy, it would probably kill him. It would require some type of crazy technology.” Ettie smiled. “’Why would someone do that’ could be Torchwood’s motto.”

“How?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s a question to ask my cousin Luc.” 

 

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams sat on the floor in the garden while Teleri and Sarah ran around. If his mother or sister could see him trying to keep track of two preadolescent girls, they would have doubled over laughing. With Liam in Ireland, Keara back in Nigeria, Nessa at college and Malcolm and Molly at school, he was babysitting again. He had no idea what he would do in an emergency. Ianto couldn’t leave the island. Dmitri had trouble keeping track of a baby too young to move. Asking the other version of his mum would be suicidal. Jeannette had babysitting experience from before Eddie and the CN, but she’d made it clear she wasn’t chasing kids. Xiu looked at the girls like alien life forms. 

His ear com chimed. Four had it networked to Three. “I don’t know.”

“How’s daycare?” Ianto sounded amused.

“Can I send them back?”

“No. We have no one to watch them. Rhys is trying to manage the medical facility and his business. Gwen’s coordinating. Anwen and Trefor will be here this afternoon.”

All three kids had to be a nightmare. “My sympathies.” From Nessa, he heard Ianto was stuck with all six kids at one point. 

“The bioweapons were rendered inert. Jack is working with the Belgium bomb squad to safely detonate the canisters.” Ianto took a moment. “Have you seen the initial quantum energy readings?”

“No.” The general flipped through the information on his tablet. “Another quantum entanglement device?” The last one leveled an island.

“It appears to be a weapon unlike the quantum entanglement terraforming devices. We have similar readings on multiple dead biomechs in Nova Scotia and at the charity building in Belgium. It was used to destroy the bioweapons.”

The general found the information and quickly reviewed it. “This is new.” 

“Anything from Luc?”

“No. He witnessed one of the biomechs die. He won’t talk about it.”

That didn’t sound good. “Does Nova Scotia have anything?”

“No.”

He didn’t believe the vigilante scared Luc into silence. The kid survived two or three raids against Nova Scotia. At fourteen, he successfully fought off intruders after his parents were killed. From what he knew of Dr. Sarkisian from the future, he could handle much worse. There had to be something else going on. “What about the Observatory?”

“Don’t ask.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Jack Harkness returned from Belgium thankful no one argued research samples in Antwerp. Given the contentious post Brexit relationship, he couldn’t imagine anyone in the EU agreeing to hand over samples of a bioweapon. All the canisters were destroyed. 

He hung his coat on the rack in his office and checked his pocket watch. Gwen would return with the kids shortly. With Mrs. Purcell in Canada, and Ken at his sister’s, Ianto would have the kids. His office made more sense than the conference room.

Jack stopped by the window overlooking the main floor. He remembered the simpler days. The workstations were used for everything. Toshiko and Gwen used one. Owen exclusively used the other. The worktable against the far wall belonged to Suzie. The empty work areas stood as a memorial.

The body count had to change, Jack told himself as he headed down the backstairs. Torchwood London needed to be the nine-to-five office environment the prime minister mentioned. With Toshiko back, they could design new ways to track threats and protect agents. Training programs, simulations, and more information wouldn’t save everyone, but it would lower the number of funerals.

“Computer activate intercom.” It clicked. “Meet in Ianto’s office.”

“Am I needed?” Dmitri sounded tired.

“Yeah.” Someone needed to ask Telyn Lewison questions. 

“We need groceries,” Ianto said. “Is it safe to take the kids to the store?”

“I hear the Red Dragon Centre is safer than Asda,” Anwen said. 

Jack smiled. 

“I have a shopping list.”

“Send it to Ianto, Owen.”

“Get your own babysitter.” Anwen laughed. “We want pizza.”

The intercom clicked off. Jack chuckled, suspecting that was Ianto preventing Owen’s response. Anwen could hold her own, but Gwen might not find it funny. 

 

Gwen Cooper entered the office and motioned her kids toward John’s desk. Ianto sat behind it across the room with Michael in a sling. Dmitri sat opposite of Ianto with his head down on the desk. She grabbed a chair and wheeled it next to Dmitri. The door opened and Jack strode through.

“When is John getting back?” Anwen set up a backgammon game on the desk.

Dmitri propped himself up on his elbows. “John is helping Oldaria while Ken is at his sister’s.”

There was something about Dmitri’s tone, Gwen thought. 

“If he’s in town, someone needs to check on him. He’s not talking to me.”

Jack stopped between Gwen and Dmitri and bend down to quietly ask, “what’s wrong with John?”

“Ken walked out. Oldaria found John in a bar that night, brought him to her warehouse and locked him down.” Dmitri looked at Jack. “Oldaria’s mad at you. Robert has explained repeatedly.” He sighed. “She keeps insisting you’re the only one who can get through to him.”

“Why did Ken leave?”

“Michael.” Gwen wondered if Ken was visiting or if he left. She remembered when Anwen and Trefor were babies. The first few months were insane. Even with help, the stress must have been overwhelming. With Dawn’s death and the latest crisis, it was a wonder Ken held on as long as he did.

Dmitri nodded.

Jack sighed. “We need to ask Telyn questions about Beddoe. Are you comfortable doing that?”

“Yeah.” Dmitri took a moment. “I’ve been helping with John. I need to get back.”

“Go.” Jack stood back.

Dmitri headed for the door. 

“How was Antwerp?” Gwen asked as Jack claimed the chair Dmitri vacated.

“Good,” Jack forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I brought a translator, and was forgiven for not speaking French.”

Gwen laughed. 

“The local police allowed Dmitri to copy the charity’s hard drives while I oversaw disposal. Dmitri suspects it’s primarily French, but specified anything in Dutch requires a translator. Google translate, or other program, may not handle it.”

“I’ll check the universities in Cardiff. London, if we don’t have a local.”

Jack reached for Ianto’s hand. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

Gwen hesitated. “Do you want me to take Michael while you’re out?” Considering what she and Rhys went through after the 456 situation when Anwen was young, wearing a sleeping baby while reading reports wasn’t be a problem. 

Ianto and Jack both stared at her.

“I can handle kids.” She motioned over her shoulder toward Anwen and Trefor.

“Uh, yeah,” Ianto said. “Do you need anything from the store?”

“No. If you’re going to the Red Dragon, I’ll take pizza.”


	4. Chapter 4

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

** Tuesday, January 26, 2021 **

Liam Doughtery held a portal device in one hand and his mobile in the other. Although damn cold, he needed to walk. The park near the entrance was nice. After the biomech attacked Erin and Luc outside the Chinese restaurant, they had to be careful.

His mobile rang and he jumped. “Hello?”

“Good morning.” 

Liam felt ridiculous smiling. “Trefor.” 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. How’s Ireland?” Liam hoped he sounded normal.

“Warmer than Canada.”

“Yeah.” Liam missed Dublin. It was the only home he’d ever known. When the feelings faded, he’d go back, and figure out how to work with Trefor. Nessa would be more complicated. She had what he wanted.

“I need to ask something.” From Trefor’s tone it wasn’t personal. “What do you know about Azrael?”

“The guy that rescued Luc? Uh, not much.”

Trefor hesitated. “We’ve had another report of a similar situation. I need information.”

“I’m not a spy.”

“I know.”

“I need to go.”

“Be careful.” Trefor paused. “Please call Jeannette; she’s worried.”

Liam headed back inside. He pictured going back. The reunion would be awkward. They’d stand and stare at each other unsure what to say or do. It might even go back to the way it was for a few days before he had sex with Trefor one-on-one. Except between the way he felt and Trefor sounded, it wouldn’t stay platonic. If he was honest with himself, he wanted to go home, curl up with Trefor, and forget why he left. But he couldn’t. Which was why he was freezing his arse in Canada in January.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

The office was to quiet, Ianto thought. Michael fussed long enough for a clean diaper and a bottle, and drifted back to sleep. Anwen and Trefor were at school. Short of another crisis, Gwen would take them home instead of bring them in. He thought about wandering upstairs and sitting with Jack or claiming his office. Jack would probably worry.

He peaked at Michael dosing in his sling before returning to the information Liam sent. Tracking the company or companies behind the Caribbean medical facility and biomech lab was complicated. Information from recovered hard drives offered insight into their extreme approaches to maintaining secrecy.

One name caught Ianto’s attention. A Crawford Collick worked at the Torchwood Institute in another division. Ianto only remembered Collick because he pursued Lisa. She thought he was sleazy. Most men didn’t hit on women in front of their boyfriends. 

Ianto wondered if it was the same man. He started by checking the death records from the Cyberman attack. Collick was listed among the deceased. To reassure himself, he checked for Collick’s Institute file and couldn’t find it. He rarely checked the employee files. Files didn’t disappear for good reasons.

That made him think of Ronald Beaupre and Derrian Talbot. He did a quick search. Both were reported dead in the late 1990s. Their profiles existed, but weren’t accurate. The general provided better information. From interviewing the Talbots, Jack thought Janne was a Torchwood agent also. But she didn’t have a profile. 

Ianto tapped his ear com. “Jack, are you at the hub?”

“Yeah.”

Ianto explained what he found. “I have no way to confirm it’s the same person with the information I’m reviewing. Do we have employment files from the medical facility?”

“Possibly. What are you thinking?”

“One of Beaupre’s people. I could have seen Collick dead that day and not remember it.” The memories returned with the smell of smoke. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. 

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I need to work on something else.”

 

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams motioned Nessa into the hall. She didn’t have class and was thankfully watching the girls. They sat in the small meeting room looking angelic and doing school work. They seemed to sprout horns when Nessa wasn’t looking.

“They’re not scary,” Nessa said quietly, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“I spoke to Liam. He’s okay.”

“Good. Jeannette is refusing to babysit because she’s worried about him and blaming us for him not being here.”

“Is she okay?”

Nessa took his hand. “Yeah. She’s trying to figure out how to make friends with Xiu.”

The general shook his head. “Jeanette could explain Four. Xiu hasn’t figure out the facility is sentient and blocking her access to sections. I think Four finds it funny.”

Nessa laughed. “When did we start a daycare?”

The general’s ear com chimed. He tapped it. “Williams.”

“Good morning.”

Speaking of children, the general mouthed.

“Say hi to Jack for me.” She walked back into the room.

The general walked down the hall. “What happened?”

“Does the name Crawford Collick mean anything?” Jack asked.

“He’s not Welsh.”

Jack explained the connection between the island and Torchwood and the missing file. “Ianto remembers Collick for bad social behavior, not his job. I doubt it involved the public.” 

“Medical or science research. Do we have anything beyond an unfortunate name?”

“No. When Anwen’s home from school, I’ll call Gwen about a Global search. Unless you call the Kearas.”

The general hesitated. “John would have a better chance with the Soldier version on the space station. They were lovers.”

“No. John’s not in a good place right now.”

“Do I want to know?” The general groaned.

“Ken left.”

The stopped and closed his eyes a moment and set a hand over his face. “Is John contained?”

“Yeah.”

“Expect to have Anwen run the search.”

 

** (warehouse near Williams’ Haulage) **

Dmitri Petrescu reviewed brain scan readings. During the coma, he’d repeatedly viewed John’s results and previous scans for answers he couldn’t find. As a doctor being unable to help a friend was difficult. The one silver lining was Dmitri learned about both neurological scans and John’s individual readings. Something changed. The information indicating his connection to Anwen lessened. It suggested another influence affecting him. What, where, how and why were always the questions. Unfortunately, without a starting point, it was daunting.

Dmitri tapped the communication panel Oldaria established. The window between rooms allowed them to see each other. “Are you familiar with your own neurological scans?”

“Why?” John laid on his back staring at the ceiling.

“There are indications you’re being affected. It’s potentially affecting your connection to Anwen.”

John looked at the glass. “Who do I thank?”

Dmitri focused on keeping the exasperation from his voice. “John, You’re in the cage until I can figure out how to fix this. If you want out, I need your help.”

John sat forward and swung his legs over the edge of the cot. His expression was cold and hard. Dmitri wondered if the darker parts of John’s personality were targeted. There were a lot of possible causes. The effect could have even been delayed as a result of coping mechanisms. Being a recovering addict, with John’s history, required a lot of determination. Recent stress and Ken’s leaving could have made it impossible for him to resist. Or it aggravated the outcome.

“Has anything unusual happened?”

John laughed harshly. 

Dmitri hesitated not wanting to ask. “Why did Ken leave?”

“Jack. After Dawn died, he wanted paperwork for Michael. Asking Ken to babysit a sick pregnant woman wasn’t enough. I should have said no. Instead I let Jack saddle Ken with a baby.” John stood. “Jack wouldn’t risk Ianto getting overwhelmed. Ianto matters.”

Dmitri wondered why John lied as he stepped from the room. Ken enjoyed Dawn’s company most of the time. If it was stress, Ken would have come back when he missed Michael. There had to be something else going on. Deflecting onto Jack fit with what Gwen and Ianto expected of John. Except if he blamed Jack for risking Ken instead of Ianto, John would be upset with Ianto. John didn’t call Ianto eye candy. Not only was John lying, he wasn’t thinking clearly, or he wouldn’t have made an obvious mistake.

Jack answered on the second ring. “Harkness.”

“Hey. Have you ever known John to be so stressed he couldn’t lie.”

“No.”

From what Dmitri had seen, John could lie as easily as he breathed. “He lied about why Ken left, but it was obvious.”

“What did he say?”

Dmitri explained.

“That’s an amateur mistake.” Jack paused. “Ken’s behavior changed after the coma.”

“Anwen wears a necklace with two rings on it. Ken overheard Owen ask Gwen about it and reacted strangely.”

Jack groaned. “Ken left because of Anwen. When John arrived from future Torchwood, he wore an engagement ring the Anwen in 2049 didn’t accept. When he left for Canada to help Luc more than a year ago, he gave it to Anwen to hold. She refused to give it back to him.”

“That explains why he blocked the current Anwen not how.” Dmitri knew he had to ask about something he told John he didn’t want to know. “John did something that you won’t forgive him for. I told him it didn’t matter. Under other circumstances, I wouldn’t ask. But…”

“That shouldn’t be related. The other person involved is dead.” Jack hesitated. “Do not let John out. If it’s related, we have a serious problem.”

“Jack, what happened?”

“My brother Gray strapped a bomb to John’s wrist as a way to control him. He did unthinkable things that had,” Jack hesitated. “Consequences.”

Dmitri closed his eyes. “Why did your brother target John?”

“John attempted to rescue Gray. His alien captors left him for dead. He blamed me for being captured. John didn’t know that.”

“I will ask Robert if he knows what happened to Gray from their universe.”


	5. Chapter 5

** Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria **

Azrael found concealing his presence a time consuming annoyance. The facility had been his home in two universes. Moving down the hall with no physical manifestation wasn’t a problem until he needed to passed through a closed door. Materializing to open doors or passing through them took extra effort, and risked exposure.

The youngest Keara stood in an open doorway staring at him. She motioned him inside as he neared her. He followed her into the room wondering how she kept his secret. There was not indication the other two versions of her knew about him. She closed the door behind her. 

Azrael manifested a basic image of his old self. “How did you know?”

She smiled. “I can sense you. I had a feeling you survived and came home from Ireland.”

That was unexpected. “Why weren’t you at the Refuge?”

“General Williams needed help.” She took a moment. “I like Kenya and the wide open spaces and the animals.”

“You don’t like the community?”

Keara shook her head. “No. It’s not like the Fellowship. Everyone is equal here. The Refuge people have a caste system and treat me like a potentially explosive deity. The friends I had at the Fellowship avoid me.”

“Have you met the other Kearas?”

“The soldier and the psycho.” She tapped her head. “They do conference calls.”

“Why not tell them I am here?”

“Psycho views you like a rabid animal. As if she has any right to judge.” Keara shook her head. “I don’t think Soldier can keep secrets from Psycho.”

Azrael laughed. “Do they realize you do not like them?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’m suppose to like them. I’ve been designated their conscience.”

“Be careful how much you argue. The Keara from this universe is as stable as a military combat veteran with her background and experience can be. The Other one is…” He trailed off unable to find the right words.

“Crazy as hell.” 

“Yeah.”

 

Idrissa Oliveira turned as the door to the workroom opened. Keara entered carrying a book, and waited to shut the door before heading across the room. Then he sensed his husband. He shouldn’t have been surprised that the girl could sense Aman or that she’d help him. 

Aman materialized. Thinking of him as Azrael was oddly more complicated than the idea that he’d returned as an incorporeal being that left quantum energy traces. “How’s the research?”

“Tiarni is working with Nova Scotia in an attempt to track the unstable geothermal energy device that destroyed the island near Greenland. The current theory is that both islands are connected to Gordon-Glen. Noble Industries in Cardiff connects to an unused science base in Alaska. Something happened there that hasn’t been distributed.”

Aman set a hand on Idrissa’s back. It was reassuring and strange at the same time.  “It connects to the charity situation in Belgium.”

“Did you secure the canisters?”

“Yes.” Aman paused. “Have you slept?”

Idrissa whispered. “Some. It’s better when you’re home.”

Aman kissed the top of his head. “I should be here tonight.”

An alarm sounded. “Computer identify alarm.”

“System failures on The Nautilus.”

Aman looked at Idrissa.

“Tiarni said it’s a mobile, underwater facility that was destroyed a long time ago.”

“It’s from the universe that collided with this one,” Keara explained without looking up from her book. “The only surviving crew member just woke up.”

Idrissa looked back at her. “Is that good or bad?”

“I wouldn’t call him Captain Nemo.”

 

Tiarni Atmore reviewed the latest information from Nova Scotia. It appeared multiple locations had questionable activity during the same time. Nigeria had artifact logs while officially closed indicating a staff and contradicting Torchwood records. Given the facility’s purpose, keeping it open made sense. Hiding it suggested it either wasn’t official or there was something cleaned up. If it was the only facility, it wouldn’t be as worrisome. Nova Scotia was missing records. Cardiff didn’t know other facilities existed. From known black ops, it was obvious an alternative network existed. But there was no documentation they could find.

“Has anyone considered the Institute did not run Torchwood?” It didn’t sound any crazier than anything else she’d considered since returning. 

“We don’t know. Jack took over Torchwood from an office specific to the Rift over Cardiff,” Liam said. “It was an unexpected result of outliving known leadership.”

It was one of the many oddities of finding herself in the future. 

“Torchwood probably compartmentalized out of paranoia,” Matt said. “For example, rebels and terrorist cells often operate independent of each other to prevent widespread exposure if one group is captured or exposed. The cultural mindset with past Torchwood is similar. The overall mission is more important than any person or team. It’s a skewed law enforcement mentality that resulted in extreme rationalization and justification,” Matt concluded.

“How does that help us find them, Mr. Rafferty?”

“We need to sift through conspiracy accounts. Active offices or teams handling Torchwood cases would reveal themselves by resolving bizarre situations. Most of the information will be distorted or fabricated. We have to check for patterns.” He took a moment. “There is a Torchwood agent or similar problem-solver operating in the US, for example. He sets up the locals with false credentials to make any accounts suspect. The reports look like Men-in-Black stories. The people willing to share them have zero credibility. Except descriptions of him, the situations he targets and the way he covers his tracks are consistent.”

“How did you know to look?” Tiarni asked.

“An article about a CIA agent that helped end something called Miracle Day. A similar article was written about Captain Harkness and a previous case.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Rather than attempt a search for direct contacts, Ianto Jones considered alternative options. The location had to be connected to either Leith Evanson in Cardiff or the actual Gordon-Glen network. It appeared to be storage similar to Noble Industries. There were no reports of exposure in Belgium. Antwerp had the second largest port in Europe. The location was ideal for shipping materials throughout Europe. Freighters had been connected to London, Calais, Cameroon and Denmark. Evidence connected the Calais freighter to situations in Dublin. Freighters at the Port of London connected to Beaupre, Fairy Farm and CN production. Liam discovered shipping connections to seemingly unconnected cases including the Pierro Group. They had connections to Cardiff Docks.

A quick Google search for ports found twenty sizable options in Europe. Rotterdam had the largest. Ianto would check the area, but committing crimes-against-humanity near The Hague was dumb, and Gordon-Glen was to well-organized for that kind of mistake. Germany, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Poland had options. Poland reminded Ianto of Werner Heartland and the outstanding warrant, for petty crimes, that kept him from returning. 

An eight-year-old situation with no starting point left few options. Aman already exhausted the search. The original idea had been to track aquarium supplies. Then he remembered the newest member of the general’s team. Xiu said the way to track the alien was through transportation. Robert had to be make quick accommodations for the impossible sounding task of airlifting the imprisoned creatures from Greenland to Europa. There couldn’t be to many options for transporting a large aquatic alien. Land transportation would be difficult.

Then Ianto thought about the bioweapon. He tapped his ear com. “Jack.”

“Yeah.”

“What would be needed to safely transport the bioweapon canisters?”

Jack paused. “Environmentally controlled shipping containers modified for hazardous waste precautions. In the event of a breach, heat would be needed to destroy them to prevent accidental release.”

“That would be heavily regulated, requiring a company licensed for waste disposal.”

“Yeah. Did you find something?’

“I don’t know,” Ianto said. “I need to check those companies.”

Twenty minutes later, he had the name of a waste disposal company that made the news eight years earlier for unethical and illegal disposal practices. The same month the warrant was issued, the company lost it’s licensing. Two accidents and a murder suicide prevented prosecution. Reporters found inconsistencies in the official accounts. Family memories of one of the accident victims questioned the investigation and suspected a staged homicide.


	6. Chapter 6

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Gwen Cooper paid no attention to John or his duties. Sal was not the only local criminal John approached. Some of his informants stayed in contact. Going through John’s database of CIs gave her an appreciation for having John around. She didn’t know what half his abbreviations meant. The one’s she’d figured out were bad enough. His go-to person for the local black market was listed as belonging to a nonstandard fetish community, and accepted collectible stuffed animals as payment. 

She picked up her mobile intending to hand off the contact database to Jack. It rang. “Cooper.”

“Gwen,” Connie Ryan sounded uneasy. She hadn’t said much since she encountered Dmitri at Peter Harries parents’ home. “I have information.” She hesitated. “I should have had Andy call.”

“What?”

“Uh. Andy has a property flagged.” Connie recited the address.

Gwen closed her eyes as the blood rushed from her face. It was the house where her and Jack were ambushed and drugged. She wasn’t surprised Andy had it flagged. He went looking for them after Rhys called, and found them.

“The city’s investigating the previous owner after the explosion. Confirming she was deceased took effort because records are missing. The investigator was curious and dug until he found an old case that led back to Torchwood. The owner’s only known living relative is Teri Pierce. I’ve heard Torchwood is currently investigating the Trahayam Bach Historical Society where she works.” 

“Yeah.” Gwen wondered how Connie knew that. “Will you send the files?”

“Yeah.” The call ended with awkward pleasantries. 

Gwen knew she was missing something as she called Jack. That house connected to Marvyn Tew somehow. The device that exploded and injured John tied to a psychic prediction made by Idrissa’s twin sisters when they were much younger. John and Dmitri went to the house looking for a lamp Tew created to affect Anwen. They believed he chose the location because Torchwood avoided it.

“Hey,” Jack said.

“Connie called.” Gwen explained the new information. 

“Dmitri needs to follow up.” 

She wanted nothing to do with it. “I need to trade the review of John’s database for other research.”

Jack laughed.

“Did you give me an edited copy?” 

“No.” He laughed more. “I was waiting for you to ask what the abbreviations meant.”

Gwen couldn’t help but smile. “You’re an arse.”

 

** (warehouse near Williams’ Haulage) **

Dmitri Petrescu had no idea how to start the conversation. Robert witnessed his father’s death and was understandably upset about John’s current situation. Dmitri lost his parents; he didn’t want to imagine going through it more than once.

“How’s John?” Robert’s translator distorted his voice slightly.

“I don’t know. I need to ask you a question.”

Robert set down a small robot. “Ask.”

Dmitri took a moment. “Do you know what happened to Jack’s brother Gray?”

Robert’s expression answered the question. “Yeah. Why?”

“Gray in this universe previously targeted John, and died. I need to know about the one from your universe.”

Robert dropped into a chair. “Gray is a psycho. What I know is Jack and my father located Gray after he’d been held captive by aliens for a long time. They transported him to a facility that specialized in treating extensive mental and physical trauma. He was permanently incarcerated. He has Jack’s potential and is criminally insane.” He sighed. “The Time Agency recruited Gray to target Jack. At one point, he was seriously injured recapturing his brother.” Robert shook his head. “I don’t know what Jack did, but there is no way he killed his own brother.”

“You think your father killed him?”

Robert closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah.”

 

** Trahaym Bach Historical Society **

Jack Harkness returned to the familiar building wondering if the young woman he’d known for years played him. He met Teri Pierce during a case involving a rampaging Weevil. She was immune to Retcon and promised to keep it a secret. He kept her immunity out of the file. They’d talked over the years. He’d never had any reason to doubt her.

He rang the bell. Teri answered the door looking puzzled. “Jack.”

“We need to talk.”

She nodded, leading back down the hallway with its dark red walls and russet baseboards. One of the historical paintings had been changed since he’d been there last. The Welsh red dragon remained where it had in the years since he’d first stepped foot in the building. 

Jack waited until they stepped into her office. “You need to tell me what’s going on. The device in the basement was odd. The bad information on the church donations makes you look guilty. I receive information this morning you’re related to the previous owner of a house previously rigged with traps.” He recited the address. 

Teri sat behind her desk. “I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to you.”

Jack sat across from her. “You know what happened?”

“A cousin on my mother’s side was involved in ugly things.”

“Do you know what was in that house when it exploded?”

Teri looked down and closed her eyes. “A tablet of kings among other horrors.”

“What did it do?”

She looked at him. “Why?”

“Tell me.”

“I don’t know what that one specifically was designed for. But in general, they give a person power.” Teri shook her head. “It’s gone.”

“Someone was in that house when the explosions started.”

“The result would be difficult to predict.” Teri held out her hands.

Jack paused. “What are you involved in?”

 

** Torchwood Three **

Gwen Cooper reviewed what Connie Ryan sent and questioned the explanation for Connie having the information. Everything she said about the house, it’s previous owner and her connection to Teri Pierce appeared accurate. Gwen independently confirmed it the best she could. 

From she knew, and suspected of the vice detective, it felt staged. Sal provided John information about Noble Industries. The details most likely came from Ryan and Oldaria. All three women were vigilantes. John suggested that both Deidre and Dr. Palfreyman were also connected to vigilante activity. Jack considered the possibility that Deidre, believed to be an associate of Leith Evanson, was had a military connection to Sal.

Gwen accessed Cardiff PD’s system and checked for recent cases. Nothing immediately stood out. When she went over the conversation again, she thought about what Ryan said about Andy flagging files. With him out of town, he wouldn’t have access. Two cases had recent activity. The drunk driver that seriously injured Maddox Tray’s mother committed suicide in prison. The Light and The Way was broken into and search. 

A witness described in the church burglary sounded familiar. Gwen did a search for Torchwood cases with a similar description and found the report Dmitri wrote on a bar fight he and John were involved in with white nationalists at Sal’s bar. John was attacked by a thug with an HH tattoo. 

She grabbed her mobile again.

“Hello.” Dmitri sounded worse.

Gwen quickly explained. “Would you recognize the guy?”

“Doubtful. That description is from John. The neonazi was already unconscious, and face first on the floor, when I walked into the bar.”

“John’s not up for it?”

“No. Whatever is wrong with him is a lot worse than a break-up.”

“Is he contained?” Gwen couldn’t believe it. She was actually concerned.

“Yeah.” Dmitri hesitated. “This will sound crazy. I think the only thing keeping John in that cell is John.”

“What?”

“John’s behavior is off. He should be trying to con me into letting him out. Out-of-control addicts are predictable. He tried blaming Jack for his situation earlier and couldn’t convince me he actually believed it. He took responsibility for his own actions at the same time.”

Gwen shook her head. That didn’t fit with what she remembered of John when she first met him. “When John returned to Cardiff as Gray’s hostage, he wanted Jack to figure it out. John justified committing horrible acts out of self-preservation, but he had limits to what he was willing to do. Faced with burying Jack alive, John couldn’t do it without Jack’s permission and a ring that would allow John to find him.”

Dmitri paused. “Would he have agreed to be locked up to protect Jack?”

“Possibly.” An awful thought occurred to Gwen. “There isn’t much John can do to Jack. If John is afraid of hurting someone, it’s Ken or Anwen.” 


	7. Chapter 7

** Red Dragon Centre; Cardiff, Wales **

** Wednesday, January 27, 2021 **

Outings with an infant were an experience. Ianto Jones transferred Michael from the car-seat and then had to remove Michael’s snowsuit and settled him back in the sling once inside. He took the car because walking wasn’t safe for Michael. He’d been cranky most of the morning. For whatever reason, five minutes with Gwen and he cried for twenty. He’d been fussy when she watched him the other day. Jack wondered if it could be women for whatever reason. Some children were afraid of men. Except Michael didn’t like Owen either. Ianto could sympathize.

He parted the sling. Michael was wide awake and staring at him. “We need lunch.” With Dmitri at the warehouse, the only person he could have left Michael with was Jack. As amusing as that sounded, if there was a problem, Michael would be with Owen.

“Ianto?” A familiar voice asked as he headed Italian place. They were having pizza again which worked for adults. If he had the kids again, he’d need to take them back to the building for dinner. 

He looked up and saw Jestina, a waitress from the pirate theme restaurant. “Hi.” He’d hoped to avoid her.

“How many kids do you watch?” She walked over.

“Three, generally.”

Jestina laughed. He liked the sound more than he wanted to admit. “Better you than me. Boy or girl?”

“Boy. His name’s Michael.”

She parted the sling to look. “Cute.”

Michael whimpered.

Jestina backed up. “Did I wake him?”

“No. He’s been cranky this morning.” Although it seemed to be in response to certain people. He didn’t like Jestina either. 

“Sorry.” She took a moment. “You and your friend haven’t been in the restaurant lately.”

“We haven’t had time.” One of his new malfunctions after Kylia went home was nervousness around certain women and social situations. He’d actually flirted, adding to the uneasiness.

“To bad.”

“We’ll be back sooner or later.” The food was good and Jack liked the wait staff costumes.

“Cool.” She paused. “Is your friend single?”

Ianto had to keep from laughing. “No.” 

“Lucky woman.”

The ridiculousness resolved one problem, Ianto thought as Jestina walked away. He didn’t need the opportunity to make bad decisions. If he was thinking clearly, he would have seen it. Lisa was the only beautiful woman that noticed he existed. 

Michael started fussing. Ianto checked his watch. It could be another diaper change. Michael had a bottle, and change, before they left the hub. For the short trip, he’d left the diaper bag at the hub. 

“A few minutes.” Ianto hoped he could get the food and get back to the car before Michael got really unhappy.

Then an owl feather landed on the sling. Ianto took a deep breath and reached for his phone. Jack was a few minutes away if he used the lift between the Millennium Center and Roald Dahl Plass. Unsure of what else to do, he continued toward the restaurant.

“Hey.”

Michael’s fussing increased. “Jack, I’m at the Red Dragon Centre and a feather just landed on Michael. I have no cover and no reasonable access to my gun.”

“Be careful.”

Ianto wondered idly if he could summon help. At the hardware store, he’d asked for Lewella’s help in Welsh and a vortex killed Shane Booth. He didn’t know how it worked. 

Then he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned. A man similarly dressed and carrying a weapon comparable to the alien bounty hunters that attacked Ken approached. Ianto stopped walking. From what little they knew of the situation, the men were tracking John. 

“Where is John Hart?” The very human-looking alien’s translator was not as impressive as Robert’s.

“I don’t know.” 

The bounty hunter tapped a part of the weapon and it buzzed, suggesting it powered on. “You are caring for his son.”

Talk about an unforeseen paperwork problems. “John relapsed. He’s in secured rehab.”

“Where?”

Ianto held out the mobile. “I would have to call the office and ask for John’s location.” He hoped Jack had heard enough of the conversation to know what he was walking into.

 

Jack Harkness contacted the general using his wrist-strap as he headed for the lift. He needed back-up. Gwen had driven out to the former MP facility to have lunch with Rhys. Owen needed to stay with Toshiko. That left him without local options.

He stepped off the lift and jogged the best he could over the uneven, frozen ground toward the nearest entrance to the Red Dragon Centre. He slid crossing the highway tunnel. The road saw very little traffic in bad weather and hadn’t been tended.

When he stepped into the coffee shop, he brought the mobile to his ear and overheard, “John relapsed. He’s in secured rehab.” 

“Hey,” Jack said into his open wrist-strap, “Someone is looking for John. Ken was attacked by bounty hunters at the mall in December. The person’s voice sounds like a semi-decent translator. It could be another alien.”

“Three of them. I called the Keara upstairs for help. I can only guess they think Michael is John’s biological son.”

Jack noticed the mobile call dropped as he walked around the line and headed for the other door. He didn’t know what that meant. He drew his Webly and pushed through the door into the mall. Jack kept to the doorway and peered around the corner. Ianto stood talking on his mobile between the entrance from the car park and the Italian restaurant. That probably meant he’d called the office and was pretending to ask for John’s location.

“What’s your status?” 

“Two down. The third is in a public area surrounded by witnesses.”

“He has a weapon on Ianto.”

Then a pillar of white light appeared behind the bounty hunter. He turned to look as Soldier Keara materialized. Jack stepped into the mall and started toward Ianto. He wrapped his arms around Michael and ran toward Jack. She shimmered from an obvious ballistic shield and leveled a weapon at the humanoid alien.

“Drop the weapon.”

The alien hesitated a moment before complying.

 

** (warehouse near Williams’ Haulage) **

Dmitri Petrescu checked the medical readings outside John’s cell. The odd brain activity shifted for no apparent reason and offered no explanation. Jack spoke with Teri Pierce and concluded John’s condition could be related to the explosion. It was the only solid idea they had. Jack checked the library of alchemy books but didn’t find an answer.

He tapped the communication panel. “Any requests for lunch?”

John sat on the edge of the bed facing the window. “Food.” 

“It could be an hour or more.”

John nodded.

An odd mobile ring tone took a moment to process. He removed John’s phone. The ID said Ken. That would be an awkward conversation.

“John.” Ken sounded scared.

“It’s Dmitri. What happened?”

“I went to the grocery store by my sister’s house.” Ken gave the name and nearest intersection. “I saw another one of those aliens. I recognized the weapon from the mall attack.”

John slapped his hand on the glass and it thudded. 

Dmitri held up a single finger to ask for a moment. “Where are you?”

“I locked myself in an office in the back of the store.”

Dmitri tapped his ear com. “Jack.” 

“He’s at the Red Dragon Centre,” Owen said. “Someone threatened Ianto.”

“Tell Jack Ken’s in trouble. I will get Robert and head over there.”

A sizzling sound caught Dmitri’s attention. He turned back to the window. An outline of John’s hand remained in the glass and the cell was empty. “Shit.” Only than did Dmitri remember John’s impressive hearing.

 

** (grocery store) **

Kenneth Phillips huddled on the floor behind a battered metal desk. He had no idea why Dmitri answered John’s phone, and wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Memories of the attack at the Disney store and Tew’s death blurred filling his head with a combination of splatting and energy blast thudding. He hugged his legs as teared welled in his eyes. When a scream broke the silence, he cried. 

Minutes passed before the door cracked and swung inward. The sound of something being dragged across the floor followed. 

“John?” Ken asked quietly.

“You’re safe.” John sounded different. He walked around the desk with slight blue glow behind his eyes.

“What happened?”

John crouched down next to him. “I’m sorry.”

Ken had no idea what to say. 

“I will end this.” John reached out and wiped the tears from Ken’s face, his fingers tingling on contact. 

“What happened to you?”

John set a finger to Ken’s lips. “I love you.”


	8. Chapter 8

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Jack Harkness wondered about is life at times. The general retrieved maintenance bots from the hub to clean up the remains of the aliens he detonated. Keara removed the surviving alien. Gwen stopped at the former MP facility long enough to pick up Bree and head for the grocery store. Dmitri portaled to assess the damage John caused and wait with Ken. That left picking up lunch and driving Ianto and Michael back to the hub. 

“How are you doing?” Jack parked Ianto’s car in the garage near Torchwood. 

“I don’t know.”

Jack squeezed Ianto’s leg. “Are you having flashbacks?”

“No.” Ianto turned, meeting Jack’s eyes. 

“Do you want to rest?”

“I need to watch Michael.”

Jack took a moment. “Is that a good idea?”

“It’s not a choice. Dmitri needs to track John.”

Jack didn’t like Ianto’s tone. He way to calm. “If you have an episode while caring for Michael, you could accidentally hurt him.” 

Ianto nodded. “I need to stay with you.”

Jack leaned over and lightly kissed him. 

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

With as much time as he’d had to think, John Hart suspected the changes were a result of the alchemy explosion. He had abilities similar to Malcolm Dove and Ianto, both tied to an ancient being. After seeing to Ken’s safety, he returned to the warehouse for his wrist-strap and a few of Robert’s gadgets. John then took the alien he captured to Torchwood Global.

The station looked similar to the one he remembered. He and Anwen spent their last months in 2049 on the station. He’d given her everything he could, and she rejected him. Now she continued to control him from the grave. That needed to end.

The bounty hunters taught him an important lesson on what mattered. John saw himself in Anwen. A beautiful, broken woman who could see past his flaws. She loved him in her own way. Everything she did to save him from himself was a means to an end. No matter what they shared, or the emotions she claimed, he wasn’t her priority. Ken was different. He wanted a home and a family. He didn’t use or manipulate anyone. The unlikely relationship was the only truly healthy one John had ever had.

Keara looked the same as she had their last night together. Another woman who lied, used and manipulated him.

John dragged the unconscious bounty hunter toward her. “I need one of Robert’s Chula warships.”

“That’s a bad idea.” 

“This has to end, Kear.” He dropped the alien with a thud. “Ken could have been killed twice.”

“John,” she said carefully, “There is something wrong with you.”

“That’s not new.”

She smiled. “No. Teleporting through advanced alien technology and the eye shine are new.”

“You told me when I learned to take responsibility for my own actions I would overcome my demons.”

“Yeah. You told me we should party with our demons.”

John shrugged. 

“Do you even know who’s after you?”

“Yeah. Last time I left Earth, I freed some slaves and pissed some people off.”

Keara walked over to him slowly. “You won’t find peace among the stars, John. Jack forgave you. Ken is alive.”

“You owe me.”

She reached out and lightly touched his face with her finger tips. Evidence of the vision swept across her face and left her staring at him. “You can have the ship. You need to go.”

“Yeah.”

“John,” she said as he walked as he dragged the alien passed her. “You’re going to find what you need. It’s not what you think.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Concerned, Jack Harkness insisted that Michael could rest in his bassinet in the nursery next to the bed. Jack took Ianto’s shoulder holster and hung it in the closet. While he didn’t worry about Anwen or Trefor touching it, he wouldn’t leave it out if they were there. Jack then sat on the edge of the large bed and tucked the quilt around Ianto. 

“I’m fine.” Except Ianto didn’t argue against the impromptu nap.

Jack kissed Ianto’s forehead. “I need to check in with the others. If you need me…”

“Always.”

Jack walked over to the table in the corner and claimed a chair. He tapped his ear com. He needed a tablet. “Who’s in the hub?”

“We’re heading back,” Gwen said. “Ken is safe. The general arrived to handle clean-up at the store. Dmitri is heading back to the warehouse. There was some type of problem.”

“Do we have anything on the aliens?”

“No. Is Global handling that?”

Jack wondered how the aliens got passed the satellite network. “I don’t know.”

“How did the bounty hunters know about the baby, Jack?”

Jack’s mobile rang. The ID said Whitehall. “I have to go. We will talk when you’re back.” He tapped his ear com off and then answered. “Harkness.”

“Captain,” Prime Minister Bransom said, “What just happened?”

“There were simultaneous alien attacks potentially in retaliation for the destruction of the Greenland facility.” It sounded good.

“How did they get past Torchwood?”

“That’s being reviewed, ma’am. We have limited personnel and resources.”

“I was told you have a station, satellites and ships,” Bransom said. “An alien intrusion does not inspire confidence.”

Jack took a moment. “We are doing the best that we can with the resources available. We do not have the funding, support staff or facilities to organize and operate a planetary defense. The aliens were identified by my office manager and a civilian. We responded immediately. The threats were neutralized and we cleaned up any damage caused in the process. There have been no reports of civilian injuries.” He couldn’t help but wonder if the Kearas allowed the alien ship through to prove a point.

Bransom paused. “If we authorized your funding, Captain, how long would it take to establish an adequate defense?”

“Building, recruiting, and training would take months. Building Torchwood London is simple.” With planning, maintenance bots and landfill access for replication materials, it could probably be done over a weekend. “Recruitment and training would be more complicated. Background checks and reviewing security concerns would be time consuming.”

“We need a proposal.” Her tone said she additional demands. “Would you described the Antwerp situation as Torchwood jurisdiction?”

“Yes.” Jack knew he was about to get dragged into politics.

“The EU needs to contribute, then.”

Jack hesitated. “Ma’am, the organization in Belgium is connected to a much bigger network. Most of what we’ve found so far is based in England and Wales. If I send Brussels a bill, and the EU later learns the threat came from Great Britain, we’re going to have a problem.”


	9. Chapter 9

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

** Thursday, January 28, 2021 **

Malcolm Dove found a manila envelope in his backpack on the bus ride home, and waited until he and Molly were walking home from their stop to open it. The brief type-written note sounded melodramatic. He handed it to Molly. Then he partly removed a small over-the-counter allergy medication bottle included with the message. 

“This isn’t possible,” Molly said hesitantly.

“I don’t know.” He released the bottle back into the envelope. “Basic genetics. Every physical trait is based on a gene. Each person gets a gene option per parent for each trait.” 

“Yeah. How would changing that make someone smarter?”

“It would have to introduce new genetic material and change the alleles or the options selected.” Malcolm paused. “Humans share DNA with animals. The human portion is small and the rest is dormant. If these pills are connected to the situation in Cardiff, that could be why the retrovirus affects seemingly random parts of the body.” He shook his head. “The mechanism would have to be the same. It targets specific circumstances instead of specific genes.”

“Flaws? The retrovirus is reportedly a secretion associated with reproduction.”

Malcolm put the note back in the envelope. “What if the genetic editing and hive mind are part of the creature’s childcare?”

“The creature’s live in a dark environment. Maybe they communicate as a hive.”

He exhaled sharply. “Why would it affect humans?”

“The corporation modified it?”

Malcolm followed Molly into the facility. “They had to know the end result first.”

“Maybe the aliens need it for something. Matrix Revised.”

“I hope not.”

 

General Trefor Williams laughed as he caught Nessa before she fell off his lap. “The office is a bad idea.”

Nessa chuckled, setting her forehead to the top of the general’s head. “You need a new a chair.”

“Can you picture that discussion with the clerk at the furniture store?” He lightly rubbed her back.

She kissed his forehead. “I need to get back. Jeannette and Xiu agreed to babysit briefly if I took them to the mall.”

The door buzzer sounded.

“That’s not Jeannette. She knows why I asked for the time.” 

The general grabbed his mobile off the desk and checked the time. “It’s late enough for Malcolm and Molly.”

Nessa carefully moved off the general’s lap, and adjusted her clothes. “We’ll pick this up tonight. Nothing I can fall off of, Trefor.”

“That includes my bed.” The general fixed his trousers.

Nessa chuckled and shook her head. “That was your fault.”

The general shrugged. “I’m that good.”

“I have leather manacles. That would keep you in place and us off the floor.”

“I don’t think so.”

Nessa laughed and headed for the door. She ran her hands over her clothes one last time before tapping the door control. Nessa stepped aside, motioning her brother and his girlfriend into the room. Both looked uncomfortable. 

Malcolm carried a large envelope across the room and handed it across the desk. “That was slipped into my backpack after lunch. The note sounds like something out of a bad movie.” He paused. “If it’s not another Kevan Rossitor prank, his family could be connected to Gordon-Glen.”

The amusement faded from the general’s face as he opened it and removed the note. He read it twice. “Any idea who planted it?”

“No. It wasn’t there before lunch.” Malcolm shook his head. “She must have gotten into my locker.”

“She?” The general asked.

“That sounds like a girl,” Molly replied. “If it was one of our friends, it would include details. She didn’t break it down in the science lab. No self-respecting science nerd would write a note sounding like a bad plot from a teen chick flick.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Owen Harper reviewed Tosh’s scan readings again. What concerned him more than the dissolved cybernetics was why she had them in the first place. With the latest insanity, Jack hadn’t had time to review what they knew. From the information he had on Nanogenes, the technology should have identified a necessary technology in a species it recognized. Dr. Petrescu recommended looking for indications of genetic and other medical conditions that would result in needing the modifications. Finding nothing worried Owen more.

The more he thought about it, he suspected the devices weren’t medically necessary. They weren’t positioned correctly for mental or physical enhancement. He’d seen everything from parasitic technology to torture devices. All he could think of was some type of control. 

In his first year with Torchwood, a humanoid slave arrived through the Rift with biomechanical modifications. Jack recognized it. He focused on the memory more than once trying to recall details. This Jack had memory issues for reasons that hadn’t been explained. If he had something specific, Jack might remember.

The ear com chimed on his desk. Owen walked over, picked it up and placed it in his ear. “Harper.”

“Doctor, this is Williams at Four. I’m sending a bottle of possible retrovirus derived pills in a quarantine container.”

“Sending how?”

“Four said it will arrive on an empty medical cot at the back of the infirmary.” 

“Preliminary details?”

“Scan readings are inconclusive. There are chemicals my equipment can’t identify. Luc’s lab at Three is better equipped for medical.”

My lab. “Where did you get the pills?”

“A high school student. They reportedly enhance intelligence. A local teenage drug dealer has connections to a family pharmaceutical company. It was thought he was selling ADD medication as study pills.”

“It’s street value would be higher.”

“Yeah. We’ve been tracking possible black market distribution.”

Owen wondered why Dublin was tracking illegal prescription drugs. “What type of equipment do you have?”

“Unknown alien race.” Williams paused. “Four said that one of the pill chemicals is not found on Earth.”

“When you find the source, I need specifics. Any files, production notes.”

The call ended in brief pleasantries. Owen couldn’t help but wondered about the way Williams talked about the facility. Torchwood offices were complicated enough without being sentient. 

 

Jack Harkness prepared an excuse as he walked toward Ianto’s office. The most recent attack at the Red Dragon had Jack worried. The PTSD hadn’t flared. Instead Ianto got increasingly agitated about Jack’s concern. It reminded him of the last Lewella situation. From what Ianto described, the gatekeeper vision might have resulted in more mystical changes.

The door slid open. Ianto sat in the back behind his desk with Michael. “We’re still alive.”

“I see that.” Jack crossed the room. “How’s Michael?”

“Good. No nightmares or flashbacks.”

Jack grabbed a chair. “You’re agitated.”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Jack leaded forward on the desk.

Ianto took a moment. “I don’t know. Collick, the Institute is being rebuilt.” He sighed. “This memory of Lisa won’t go away. We had plans and reservations and a downpour ruined it. We huddled in the nearest doorway waiting for the rain to stop. She was upset after a bad day.” 

Jack reached across the desk and took Ianto’s hand. “Are you trying to remember something? You said Collick treated Lisa badly.”

Ianto shook his head. “It was weeks before the Institute burned. We’d been talking about meeting each other’s parents. Her mother didn’t like me.”

“My mother would have liked you.”

“Maybe it’s where we were standing. That street wasn’t near our flats or the restaurant.”

Jack squeezed his hand. “Why were you there?”

“Lisa was running late.” Ianto closed his eyes. “She had me meet her because her car wouldn’t start.”

“What’s in the area?”

Ianto looked a Jack a moment as if something occurred to him. He grabbed a tablet and quickly searched. “There was a medical clinic near there. Torchwood employees received special treatment.”

“Are you checking the Institute files?”

“Survivors from the attack were taken there unless they had life-threatening injuries.” Ianto looked up from the hand-held computer. “A doctor at the clinic signed Collick’s death certificate.”

Shit. “I will check death certificates. I need a list of the clinic doctors.” 

The intercom click. “Jack, I need you in the lab.”

“Give me a few minutes, Owen.” Jack ordered the intercom disconnected. “Leave this to me.”

“I’ll email you the list.” Ianto’s expression and tone said the anxiety flared.

“What?”

“Lisa wasn’t sick.”

“Okay?” Jack wondered what caused the symptoms to kick in now instead of earlier.

Ianto handed over the tablet. “The clinic didn’t do check-ups or physicals. Why was she at the doctor if she wasn’t sick?”

The screen showed information on clinic services from what had to be an internal memo. Jack should have known. “She wasn’t pregnant.” 

“I can handle discussing the Institute but not a clinic.”

Jack stood. “It’s the alien yesterday.” The threat against Michael must have blurred with Ianto’s thoughts about Kylia and the lingering PTSD from the Cyberman attack. Ianto reacted differently this time. Which meant he couldn’t be left alone until Jack knew how it affected him. “Walk with me.”

 

Owen Harper wondered at the implications of his discovery. He compared the pills to the antibodies and the research on how it worked. It explained why aliens would pour technology onto a backwater planet. The biomech program potentially preparation for an inevitable invasion. If it worked on humanoids as well as humans, it meant Teleri Voyles’ situation was nothing compared to the target on Earth.

The door opened and Jack entered followed by Ianto with the baby. Owen would have preferred to discuss it with Jack first. Owen wanted to be wrong. But it explained a lot.

“I know what’s going on.” Owen shook his head slightly and handed the tablet to Jack. “The alien secretion edits genetic flaws. The antibodies work similar to Nanogenes. I have no idea how or the side-effects yet.”

“Okay.” Jack felt Ianto tense next to him.

“The pills take it a step further. From the affect on the blood work from the facility, the pills will probably reverse the physical damage. I need to upload the details into a computer simulation.”

“That’s good.”

“No. If it was affecting a computer, the pills would return it to factory settings good as new completely scrubbed of any damage.”

“Cybermen.”

“What?” Jack looked at Ianto.

“Cybermen convert other sentient species. If the human body reset itself, it would reject partial conversion.”

Owen hadn’t thought about that. “It could reverse damage caused by alien infections, infestation, parasites, technology.”

“What’s the downside?” Jack asked.

“One of the blood samples I checked was from a dog that had a blood disorder. It repaired the damage. Which suggests it’s not specific to one species. If it works on other sentient races, our planet has a target on it. Our own people experimented on our children. Why would aliens give us more consideration?”

“Do we have pills left?”

“Yes.”

“I need to discuss replicating the pills with the general. We need to focus on the immediate problem. Healing the kids affected by the retrovirus.”

 

Ianto Jones waited until he and Jack returned to the hallway. There were other implications. “There is another problem. The kind that could start wars.”

Jack looked at him.

“The definition of genetic flaw varies. At best, it will lead to custom genetics. What color hair and eyes do you want your kid to have?” Ianto took a moment. “Picture what would happen if one group of people decided on genetic normal and forced  treatment on anyone that didn’t fit that definition. It could be argued that what was done to people by Moss-Probert needs to be undone whether they like it or not. Others would argue that anyone with a genetic abnormality needs to be cured. That could include religious criteria and racism.”

Jack nodded. “Kids first.” 


	10. Chapter 10

** (former Moss-Probert facility); Cardiff, Wales **

** Friday, January 29, 2021 **

Gwen Cooper dropped the kids off at school and met Rhys at his office. He sounded strange on the phone. One of the Refuge people had information about Antwerp. Given Rhys’ tone, she suspected it was bad news.

“Morning.” Gwen smiled peaking around the door jamb into the office.

“We need a vacation. Somewhere sane.” Rhys rubbed his face.

Gwen stepped into the room. “What happened?”

“A lot. Charon/Zhao gave Dr. Floyd an office to review medical examiner cases. They make a scary couple.”

“What about Belgium?”

Rhys stared at her. “The Refuge sent a report on the quantum energy readings.” He grabbed a folder on his desk. “They concluded it’s not a weapon, but a person that underwent a change.” 

Gwen sat across from Rhys and accepted the folder. “Into what?” She opened it and quickly reviewed the information. “This is insane.”

“Yeah.”

She flipped through the pages in the slim stack. “How was he changed?”

“If they know, it’s not included.” 

Gwen looked up. “This says the Refuge is taking over Torchwood Nigeria.”

“According to Charon they need a secondary location for psychics needing psychiatric care. Many of them came from the Fellowship and were more comfortable there than at the Refuge.”

“Why now?”

Rhys shook his head. “The Refuge people are also expecting a cure soon. They’re already determining where the children are being relocated once they’re no longer affected.”

Gwen wondered when that became the Refuge’s decision. 

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Aman Oliveira reconsidered the motivation behind leaking Nova Scotia’s location to the media. They had reporters camped out on their doorstep. Opinions varied, but the swarm appeared determined to uncover every situation Torchwood assisted the RCMP in resolving. The original leak had a negative view of the office and Cardiff assigning immigrants instead of locals. It slowly morphed into a superhero story. One blogger compared Luc to Batman. The fourteen-year-old kid who lost his parents in a horrifying attack, that the writer had no accurate details on, took over a job that would have crushed adults twice his age.

“How’s Gotham?” Aman asked entering Luc’s lab. 

Luc swore. “I designated a First Nation site Torchwood jurisdiction. The nearest tribe was concerned about preserving the area.”

“Okay.”

“It started a debate about Torchwood jurisdiction. The government wants clarification on my decision. One idiot, in the US I think, has accused the tribe of conspiring with aliens.”

Aman set a hand on the back of Luc’s chair. “Matt can handle that. He earned his cultural anthropology degree in Canada.” 

“Yeah. I’m reviewing case notes for possible problems with past cases.” Luc slammed his fist down on his desk. “We have important work to do.” 

“You’re still having anger issues?” 

“Yeah. The reporters aren’t helping.” Luc took a moment. “Eryn called the university, and had us all excused. The media circus would disrupt the campus. Reporters are already asking what classes we’re taking.”

Aman grabbed a chair and moved it over next to Luc. “You need to get your head on straight. If you lose control, someone is getting hurt.”

“I know.” Luc hesitated. “I ran brain scans. There is a change in the part of my brain that controls anger.”

“Have you told Eryn?”

“Yeah. I tried to get her to move out of our room. When she wouldn’t, I insisted she carry stun pellets.”

Aman paused to compose his thoughts. “We have medical monitoring equipment. You need repeat scans for comparisons.”

Luc pushed up his sleeve showing a band on his wrist. “Eryn insisted.”

“Does anything help?”

Luc closed his eyes.

“What?”

“Eryn. She can calm me by touch.” Luc paused. “The family anger problem doesn’t work that way.”

“You need to do scans to see what changes when she touches you.” Aman held up his hands. “That’s dangerous.”

“I know.”

Aman needed to call Jack and have him access Torchwood Global files. If Torchwood treated him or somehow managed it, they needed to know how. Otherwise, Three’s new doctor needed to evaluate it.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Owen Harper headed to the infirmary. He wanted to check on Tosh before returning to the lab. After Ianto’s comments about Cyberman, Owen wondered about Tosh’s cybernetics. Aliens aside, there could be reasons Torchwood involved itself in insane research. Until he’d changed universes, he didn’t know it was possible. Despite years working with Jack, he’d never heard about Rifts in alternative universes affecting Earth. Either it never came up, or this universe was different than the one he came from. It also made him wonder if why time traveling Keara chose this universe to manipulate. It could allow access to other universes that needed solutions this one offered. All of which he would discuss with Tosh when she was awake.

The alarm monitoring Tosh sounded. Finally, he thought crossing the room to her bedside. Her eyelids fluttered. Whatever he expected, it wasn’t panic. He had a medical monitor on her wrists but no restrains. Rather than make demands, she tried to escape. He pinned her arms to her side.

“Computer, active intercom.” It clicked. “Jack, Tosh is awake. I need help.”

“On my way. What happened?”

Owen dodged being bit. “Ow.” He grimaced as she kicked him. “I didn’t restrain her.”

 

Jack Harkness entered a few minutes later. Owen had Toshiko pinned on her side to the medical cot next to the Nanogene station. Trying to hold someone down without hurting them was difficult. 

“Toshiko.” Jack walked over to her medical cot opposite Owen.

She looked up at him, terrified. 

He crouched down with his arms on the side of the cot to meet her eyes. “We’re not trying to hurt you.”

“Owen’s dead.” She sounded weak.

“You’re in a different universe. It’s a very long story.” Jack reached for her hand.

She stopped struggling. Owen released her and stepped back. 

“When you arrived you were sick. Do you remember that?”

“No.”

“You had hypothermia and time distortion sickness.” Jack paused a moment. “We used a technology called Nanogenes to heal you. The process removed cybernetics connected to your spine.”

Toshiko closed her eyes as tears rolled off her cheeks. “I’m free.”

“What did the devices do?”

“Enforce compliance.”

“You’re safe.” Jack squeezed her hand. “I need to talk to Owen. I will be right over there.”

Jack stood and motioned Owen aside. “I need you to call Dmitri to sit with Ken while Bree talks to Toshiko.” 

Owen nodded. “In my universe, we had a humanoid slave arrive with biomechanical enhancements. The Jack there recognized the technology. I can’t remember details. It was a long time ago.”

“If you can remember anything about the technology, I have a way to jog my memory.” Jack needed a list of topics to explore with dream-sharing. Gwen would understand. The sessions helped them both. Rhys and Ianto might object to several.

Jack walked back and sat on the medical cot next to Toshiko. “Are you up for telling me about your world?”


	11. Chapter 11

(warehouse near Williams’ Haulage); Cardiff, Wales

Dmitri Petrescu packed the few things he had at the modified warehouse. Robert confirmed John not only took off, he left the planet. Dmitri had no sympathy for the bounty hunters, and what John would do to them. He would likely return for Ken. That gave him time to search for answers in the alchemy library at Three, but he doubted he could find specifics. Teri Pierce gave Jack details, but didn’t have answers. Finding someone with the knowledge willing to cooperate might not be possible.

A knock sounded on the door jamb. Dmitri turned to find Telyn standing in the doorway. She had a way of gripping her hands in front of her when she needed to say something she didn’t want to. He walked over to her and she backed into the hallway. After what she’d been through with Powell Beddoe it was a wonder she’d approach his bedroom.

“I remembered something.” She took a moment. “I was watching TV and there was this news report and…”

“You can tell me anything.”

Tears welled in her eyes and tumbled down her cheeks. “I didn’t tell you…”

Dmitri held his hands palms up. “I won’t judge.”

“Powell liked to digitally record conversations and…” Her lips trembled. “When I escaped, I took some of Powell’s videos as leverage. I don’t know what I took. I didn’t watch any of the videos. I assumed they were sex with different women and multiple people at the same time. That’s probably why Powell’s family wants to talk to me. I don’t care about Powell. The women in those videos deserve better than having their shame posted on the Internet.”

Dmitri knew she’d been through hell, but didn’t know the specifics. If Deidre was a traumatized vigilante, killing Beddoe made sense. It might even have been a message to similar offenders.

“Beddoe recorded meetings?”

Telyn nodded. 

“Where are the recordings?”

“A Mary Magdalene charity.” She gave him the nearest cross streets.

“You need to request them in person?”

Telyn nodded. “I broke the rules telling you their safes exist.”

Dmitri took a moment. That implied she wasn’t the only one using blackmail to protect herself. “Torchwood needs answers. We don’t want to endanger lives.” If John was there, Dmitri would ask if the safes could be accessed to make copies. 

“Gwen is another Torchwood agent. She’s a good person. She won’t judge.”

Telyn nodded again.

 

Gwen Cooper returned to her car with Telyn. The woman was terrified. From what Torchwood uncovered and the new information, it wasn’t surprising. Gwen couldn’t understand why women stayed in abusive relationships. The fact that a local charity had the equivalent of bank deposit boxes for blackmail said a lot about domestic violence. 

Telyn’s hands shook so badly she couldn’t fasten her own seatbelt. Gwen leaned over and clicked it in place. 

“You’re safe.”

“No, I’m not, Ms. Cooper. Oldaria only agreed to allow me to leave because I have to do this. If we’re seen, I’m not making it back here alive.”

“I’ve dealt with worse than Powell Beddoe’s family.”

 

Jack Harkness’ mobile rang and he excused himself. “Harkness.”

“This is Robert. Ms. Cooper and Ms. Lewison left here twenty minutes ago. They’ve been noticed. A hit team has been dispatched. Oldaria monitors certain groups. I sent Telyn a text message to have Ms. Cooper avoid the shelter.”

“Send me details.”

The call ended and his phone started receiving texts quickly.

“Computer activate intercom.” It clicked. “There has been a change of plans. I need everyone in the hub to report to the infirmary now.” Jack deactivated the intercom.

Then he flipped open his wrist com. “General Williams.”

“Hey.”

“According to Robert, Gwen has an armed team after her. She may not have a portal device.” Jack checked his mobile. “I’ve got a possible location.” Jack read it aloud. “Can you go now?”

“Yep. Are you meeting me there?”

“Yeah. I need to make sure the hub is locked down.”

“We need drones immediately.” The general disconnected.

Jack called Aman next. Eryn might ask questions and it was an ugly situation. 

“Problem?” Aman asked.

“Yeah.” Jack explained the situation as best he could.

“Do you need me there?”

Jack hesitated longer than he should have. “Yes. Be careful.”

 

Cardiff Dock; Cardiff, Wales

After Telyn received the text message, Gwen Cooper turned and headed for the docks. Without knowing who or what, they weren’t outrunning it. She needed to get to an area with few people where any damage could be contained. The warehouse with the fulgurite situations and later Pierro’s group wasn’t used anymore. 

They made it near the Southpoint Industrial Estate before she saw the first vehicle. The modified SUV was probably armored. It looked similar to the Torchwood van. Unsure of what else to do, she drove toward a couple unused warehouses.

“Jack,” she said over her ear com. “We didn’t get as far as I hoped.”

“Hide. Luc has a drone overhead. Both the general and Aman are in the area.”

“Can someone send bots?”

“Yeah.”

Gwen drove into an open warehouse door and parked the car behind a dumpster. It wouldn’t give them much time, but it would buy them some. All she could think about as she looked around the warehouse was she needed to carry a portal device. She took Telyn’s hand and hurried across the warehouse to a door. It was locked, but the door was in bad shape, Gwen shook it until it opened. 

A maintenance bot appeared in the car park a moment before her phone rang. The ID said Eryn. She answered it. “Cooper.”

“Ma’am, the bot is equipped with a portal device. The same as the one that transported Ms. Sato. Please have Ms. Lewison sit on it.”

Explaining took longer than Gwen would have preferred. When the bot disappeared, she could hear footsteps in the warehouse. She ran across the pavement. As she turned the corner a person rushed her. He grabbed her around the waist and they disappeared.

 

General Trefor Williams scanned the area again. The technology was impressive, and comparable to the attack on the former nursing home used by the cult. The first kill squad made no sense either. What concerned him were the tactics. They were military trained from what he could see of their movements through scans. He had a lot of questions. None of which would be answered if he approached them. The downside of his Rift ability. 

“Anything interesting?” Jack walked up to him.

“There is no indication they have scan technology.” The general repeated the scan and held the 3D representation up for Jack to see. “They don’t know Telyn and mum escaped. Or that Luc’s drone is watching them. I have to know it’s there to find it.”

“Military contractors?”

“Probably. Chasing two civilians through Cardiff suggests they’re mercenaries. Arrogant mercs considering how close we are to Torchwood.”

“How are we catching them?”

The general smiled. “Ballistic shield. Kailen landed a cloaked drone on their car. It’s an armored and strong enough to hold it.”

Jack laughed. 

Dance music could be heard in the distance. “The maintenance bots arrived from Nova Scotia.” The general rescanned the area. “They’re moving back to their van.”

“Stay out of range.”

The general couldn’t help but smile. Either Liam randomly uploaded a song from his playlist or didn’t realize it would be recognizable. The general hoped they had CCTV footage of four mercenaries running from what looked like giant, automated vacuum cleaners playing  If I Had You .


	12. Chapter 12

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Jack Harkness knew he’d get used to the space station in time. It was definitely safer than having conscious prisoners at the hub. Weevils were rarely an issue. Derrian Talbot on the other hand was dangerous. Jack preferred to avoid prisoner problems.

“Walk with me,” the general said. “Keara said she gave you the tourist introduction to the station.”

Jack fell in step next to him. “Yeah. Troop quarters, hydroponics and an observatory showing the planet.”

“Arsehole intake is more interesting. Prisoners are currently sedated because cryo-stasis hasn’t been set up yet. Storage is similar. The computer does a complete forensic and genetic evaluation. The system is currently generating individual reports on all trace evidence, including clothing materials, and their genetics. Once we have profiles we will be able to identify clones and familial matches.”

It sounded impressive. “That violates how many laws?”

“None. The only reason to attack Telyn Lewison is Powell Beddoe. Beddoe was connected to police corruption, various felonies, and was directly connected to Noble Industries and bioweapons. Not to mention a paramilitary organization operating in Wales.”

“Terrorists have no rights?”

“Basically.” The general shrugged. “We’re not torturing them. That’s better than they’d get from most countries.”

Jack reluctantly admitted he would have done much the same thing. Although the familial match was pushing it. “What do we know?”

“They’re not biomechs. All four served in the British military and have classified records. They work for a military contractor that operates in the Middle East. Dust and fibers indicate they’re operating out of an old warehouse. It’s similar to the Jorel Baughn case. Keara is coordinating with Kailen to check possible locations.”

A thought occurred to Jack. “We need to do a background comparison to Sal, a British Army veteran living in Wales. She’s on DCI Harpham’s naughty list. She’s somehow connected to DC Connie Ryan and Oldaria. John suspected a connection with Dr. Palfreyman, that poisoned the church, and Deidre. She’s somehow connected to Leith Evanson whose reportedly behind the bioweapon in Wales. Peter Harries said Deidre killed Beddoe. There is a possibility that Deidre connects to Sal through military service.”

“Why did John think they’re connected?”

“Sal passed John information that led to a connection to Oldaria and Ryan. The rest is guess work. His argument involved the odds of five violent, female vigilantes in the same location at the same time.”

The general nodded. “John always had a solid understanding of psychos.”

“John’s proven himself.” Jack wondered when he decided that.

The general wasn’t convinced. “Where is he currently?”

“Tracking the bounty hunters that attacked Ken and Ianto.”

“John’s a homicidal, multiple addict, that lost control, Jack. What are you going to do when he comes back?”

“I don’t know.”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Liam Doughtery eyed the message Trefor sent.  Nice music . Uploading the Adam Lambert song had been unintentional. There was a problem with the Drowning Pool recording. The fact that he could visualize Trefor’s expression as he typed the text message didn’t help. 

“Liam?” Eryn asked. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Liam wondered if he could stand by his decision about not going back. “What can I help with?”

“You tracked a shipping connection between Ireland, Wales and England?”

Liam nodded. 

“We have a potentially impossible puzzle.” Eryn looked apologetic. “Aman tracked a man with several aliases. His last was Werner Heartfield. He has an outstanding warrant in Poland from eight years ago. At the same time, a company lost it’s license for transporting hazardous waste. That is how Captain Harkness believes Gordon-Glen would transport the bioweapons.” She took a moment. “The charity in Antwerp appeared to be storing the bioweapons, but there is no indication of exposure in Belgium. Noble Industries had canisters. Liverpool had a facility of some kind that resulted in Dr. Palfreyman’s exposure. Manchester had a aquarium. Montpellier, France had unexplained deaths, but like Manchester had no port access.” 

“Do you have details?” That sounded insane.

Eryn handed him a tablet. “While we need this information, Liam, there is no expectation anyone can track it. Aman, Ianto and Mr. Williams have all tried.”

Liam nodded. “Has anyone checked with Beaupre’s network? Ianto tracked CN from Africa to Wales through freighters.”

“There is to much information.”

“Does this include Jack’s ideas on shipping requirements?”

Eryn nodded. “Yeah.”

“Hazardous waste is to visible. What kind of charity in Antwerp?”

Eryn took the tablet back and quickly searched. “Aid to poor countries.”

“Medication?”

After a moment, she said, “Yeah.”

“If that charity transported medication that requires environmental controls, that’s how they’re did it.”

“How…”

“Malcolm. Trefor had me tracking Rossiter shipments. The requirements indicate what type of medication they’re shipping. Medications like insulin have more sensitive needs than pills.” Then he realized something. “Any medications or treatments produced using plasma or blood could hide antibody shipments.”

She hugged him. “Come with me. We need to find Hana and discuss this with my brother.” 

 

Eryn Sylla all but dragged Hana and Liam into Kailen’s computer lab. Aman looked up from the corner. Good, she thought, They needed him to.

“Can Luc manage the drones?”

Kailen looked up. “Why?”

“Between Liam and Hana, you’re going to find Gordon-Glen.”

Everyone was staring at her. “Hana proposed tracking missing people through social service records. The number of people needing homeless shelters was directly related to the state of the economy. She needs to apply that approach to tracking medication shipments from charities in Europe, particularly Antwerp, to locations. Liam is going to review tax records, donations, and charity files. We’re specifically looking for medication that could have the necessary requirements to ship the bioweapon.”

“Oh, fuck.”

Hana cringed.

“Aman researched Werner Heartfield. If he was a Gordon-Glen trouble-shooter, his Interpol record is going to led to suspects. With the information from Hana and Liam we will know quickly.”

“Start with the port in Cameroon for Africa,” Aman added.

“Yeah.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

With Jack on the space station, Ianto Jones accepted a task he didn’t want. He had a list of the dead from the Institute and needed to check death certificate signatures. He lost his friends and former lovers; everything that mattered to him in London. The Institute had been his life before the Cyberman invasion. Dmitri thankfully agreed to tend Michael and sit with Ken. The horror didn’t need distractions.

It was a wonder Ianto wasn’t smelling smoke and hearing screams, Ianto thought by the time he had a short list. He checked for Institute files. Seven people including Collick reportedly received life-threatening injuries but were transported to the clinic instead of an A&E. Causes of death fit: smoke inhalation, burns and trauma associated with Cyberman. Nothing anyone would look twice at under other circumstances. 

He wondered what type of search to try. Searching reports for names by division might work, but would probably require Anwen. For whatever reason, she had an easier time authorizing searches. Either way, it would take days. Then he thought about accounting. If their names hadn’t been scrubbed somehow, it should be a quick search. 

All seven were science or medical researchers. Two worked at the Institute. Five were assigned to other facilities. Someone had taken advantage of the chaos and made people disappear. 

Ianto checked a medical licenses for the doctor that signed the paperwork. She retired years after the fire. A Google search traced her to Manchester. A check of former Free Your Spirit rehab facility employees indicated she worked there after leaving the clinic. 

He sat and stared at the information. It connected Torchwood to the research and even offered an explanation for the Cyberman attack on the Institute. While coincidences were possible, he found it unlikely they attacked an organization researching a way to reverse their conversion process.

Tears welled in Ianto’s eyes. Although driven by madness, he’d been right. Whether Torchwood could have saved Lisa at the time, he didn’t know. But it was possible. Ianto bent his elbows on the desk, set his forehead against his balled fists and cried. 


	13. Chapter 13

** Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria **

Idrissa Oliveira sighed after the call ended. One more complication. Unable to use the intercom, he checked to see which workstations were currently in use. The restricted area easily identified the user. It required a walk, but would make a private conversation easier.

He walked through the familiar halls. Most would be sound asleep. That made it unlikely he encounter anyone. Tiarni already suspected something was being kept from her. Sooner or later, she’s encounter his husband again and start asking questions. Unlike young Keara, he had no idea whether she’d kept the secret.

Although happy beyond words that Aman was back, it was still complicated. He had trouble picturing him as Azrael. The name was ridiculous. The Prophet, Aman’s previous cover, was less obvious but equally dumb. Bashiri, the name his father chose when he relocated to South Africa meant ‘prophet.’ Idrissa opted not to ask why.

He entered the small room and Azrael materialized. “What happened, liefde?”

“I spoke to Eryn about Nova Scotia’s current research project. There was a situation in Cardiff. Aman went to help.”

Azrael looked up. “Why?”

“I am not sure. She does not have specifics.”

“I will go.” Azrael stood.

“Please be careful.”

 

** Compassion and Mercy (charity;) Cardiff, Wales **

General Trefor Williams reviewed the 3D layout of the facility generated by his wrist-strap. The community charity had impressive contemporary technology. The adjacent shelter had security guards, and from the set-up were expecting a problem. The general’s immediate concern was what the type. Local shelters had been on high alert since last year. They hadn’t heard about a raid.

“Is this normal?” The general held out his wrist-strap for Jack.

“No. But I’ve never heard of a charity maintaining blackmail safes.”

Torchwood never failed to provide bizarre situations. “My mum would have called this a parental bonding experience.” The general smiled.

“In what way?”

“Who else would teach me about climbing in ladies’ windows in the middle of the night?”

Jack laughed. “The corner window on the third floor is the best option.”

“I always left the burglary to you and John. How are we doing this?”

Jack handed him a pair of black gloves. “Those will help grip the bricks.”

“Do I want to know?” The general asked.

“I’ve climbed in a few windows.”

“In January?”

Jack chuckled. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Since when?” The general laughed. 

Jack climbed the building first. The gloves appeared to temporarily bond to the wall as he climbed. The general tested it before following Jack. By the time he reached the window, he was half frozen despite the thermal gear. Jack offered a hand from inside and the general reluctantly accepted. 

An odd movement, not quite wind, followed him in the window before Jack closed it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Having an innate connection to the Rift offered an insight into different forms of energy. He wondered if he’d just experienced his first ghost.

The general reviewed the layout with his wrist-strap again. “Basement?” He asked quietly. 

“Yeah.” Jack looked around the room. “Do you feel that?”

“Yeah.”

Jack flipped open his wrist-strap and scanned the room. “No reading.”

“Let’s hope Casper’s friendly.”

 

Jack Harkness considered other possibilities as the general lead into the hallway and toward the stairs. There was evidence of inter-dimensional beings. Maddox’s symbiont, the creature that killed the men in Forest Farm, and Oldaria for sure. The strange quantum readings in Truro and Antwerp suggested inter-dimensional technology. 

As they descended the stairs, Jack realized something about the energy was familiar. Whatever the entity was, he’d previously encountered it. The gaps in his memories frustrated him. There were so many things he needed to know. The dream-sharing list had grown ridiculously long.

The general stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “That is an impressive security door.”

Jack removed one of several lock-picks. “Not really.” He had the door open in minutes.

“I thought mum in this time exaggerated the problem with you and locks last year.” The general hesitated, scanning again. “How did a charity get a bank vault?”

Jack scanned and stared at the readings. “This isn’t a blackmail scheme.”

“What?”

“Telyn was transported to a shelter where Ianto volunteered. We found out because Telyn asked for Dmitri. There was a security problem and Telyn disappeared from the shelter.”

“To know who’s in danger, Oldaria has to be connected to the local shelters.”

Jack nodded. “I’ve discussed clearing the shelters with Ianto to prevent different groups from accessing victims. Connie and Sal must have taken a less obvious approach.”

“We need to get out of here, Jack. This is a lot bigger than Telyn Lewison having a few videos. The people after her must have realized she knows where the vault is even if she didn’t realize it.”

“Yeah.” They needed a drone on the building to monitor it similar to Noble Industries. 

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Eryn Sylla wondered if she’d been overconfident about the idea. It sounded good. Liam muttered to himself at a table in the corner. He’d been working for hours. Despite claiming to be a club kid with no ambition beyond painting, he could work endlessly without complaint.

“Eryn.”

She walked across Kailen’s lab. 

“The Antwerp charity coordinated the shipment of medication and general donations by freighter to Haiti after an earthquake. The records at the Belgium port where goods were transferred to the freighter don’t match donation records. I compared publicized records from multiple charities operating in Haiti. The amount of medication listed requiring environmentally controlled shipping containers doesn’t fit the amount of people that received treatment and there is no record of damage or loss.”

“Get some sleep, Liam.”

“Aye.” He looked unsteady as he pushed himself to his feet and slowly walked from the room. She could only guess by the way he walked that he was numb from sitting to long.

She carried his reached over to Kailen who slept at his computer. She tried sending her brother to bed hours ago, but with Aman in Cardiff, he didn’t want to go. Reluctantly, she nudged him. He moved his head and blinked. 

“Is Aman home?”

“Yeah. He’s in Luc’s lab.” Eryn felt guilty waking him. “Liam found other charities connected to Antwerp.” She skimmed the information. While the Belgium charity coordinated it, they didn’t contribute medication. “Esbjerg, Denmark.” 

Kailen reached for the tablet. “How sure are we about this, Er?”

“As sure as we can be.”

“Call Jack.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Ianto Jones woke as Jack crouched next to him. Sleeping on the floor in his office was always an experience. Being alone made it worse. “Are we going home?”

“No.” Jack ran a hand lightly over his back. “We found something unexpected.”

Ianto groaned as he pushed himself up. “How bad?”

“There are no safes.” Jack explained.

Ianto sat up. “How did Ryan hide all of this from Andy?” 

“Suzie was killing people and we didn’t know.” Jack offered Ianto a hand. “Ryan’s a cop trying to protect people. Working vice gives her a solid cover.” 

Ianto shook his head as he stood. “John’s theory on female vigilantes is sounding more reasonable.”

The computer clicked. “Incoming message from Nova Scotia.”

“Computer accept,” Jack said.

Eryn sounded exhausted. “Captain Harkness, we found a new way to track Gordon-Glen.” She explained connecting Antwerp to Denmark. “There is a possible connection between the second charity and Rossister pharmaceuticals.”

“Send me the information.”

“Already sent.”

“Get some sleep.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jack flipped his wrist-strap open. “General Williams.”

“What?”

“Are you still at the hub? Eryn called with a possible Gordon-Glen location.”

The general groaned. “No more windows.”


	14. Chapter 14

** Tvivlsom Dom Pub; Esbjerg, Denmark **

** Saturday, January 30, 2021 **

Reviewing the charity building in the middle of the night didn’t tell them anything. Scans showed no indication of alien technology. After Antwerp, they could have moved their canisters, they stored them somewhere else, or they never had any.

After midnight on a Saturday morning, there weren’t a lot of options. They checked the area and found an open bar. General Trefor Williams insisted they wear casual clothes. Jack’s retro uniform was to noticeable. He chose nearly matching outfits. At the time, the general didn’t think much about it.

The he followed Jack into the Danish bar. In the dim light, they could pass for twins. Which of course was Jack’s idea. He probably knew about the bar. Crawling in windows and barhopping with his father. It sounded like the plot to a bad comedy. His mother and sister would have laughed. When he told Nessa, she would ask why she wasn’t invited. 

Nothing like family outings. His Anwen went with him to more than one strip club when he was old enough to go. Her way of trying to make him feel normal. She claimed she enjoyed it, but she once fell asleep during an amateur burlesque competition. 

“Follow my lead.” 

The general didn’t want to know what Jack had in mind as he headed for the bar and a few empty stools. For a small town, the bar was crowded. Men and women sat at tables. A few people danced by the music machine. It sounded like German heavy metal, but the dancers were to drunk to care.

“Do you speak English?” Jack slid onto a barstool.

“A little.” The bartender’s accent blurred his words with the noxious music. 

Jack ordered two micro-brews. Bottles made it easier to hide they weren’t drinking. He quickly counted out the local currency to pay. “Nice crowd.”

“Ja. Americans?”

“Yes. I’m Mark.” Jack motioned at the general. “My brother Mike.”

“Viktor.”

Jack pretended to sip his beer. “We arrived later than we expected.”

“Tourists?”

“Business. We’re looking at real estate.” 

The general made a show of sipping his beer. It smelled awful. “Dad’s considering expanding,” the general mimicked Jack’s accent. “He should be checking the ports.” He turned to survey the crowd. 

“It’s better than that network conference he sent Rachael to.”

The general shrugged. “The hotels are better.”

A woman in her late twenties entered the pub and walked to the bar. The general smiled and shifted on his stool to leaned back against the bar. She sat next to him, and ordered in a language he didn’t recognize.

Viktor set what looked like whiskey in front of her. She tossed it back and ordered another shot. 

“That kind of night?”

“Ja.”

“I’m Mike.” The general turned toward her. 

“Yasmin.”

He flirted harmlessly. From the woman’s body language, she wanted to drink whiskey from the bottle instead of in shots. When she removed a pen, from her small purse, and wrote on a napkin, he thought she was giving him her phone number. Instead it was the name of the charity in Antwerp. He casually set the side of his hand over the writing and reassessed her body language. 

“Would you like to go somewhere more private?”

She set her hand on his leg. One of the drunks dropped a bottle startling her and she gripped him. He set his free hand over hers on his leg, and she released the vice grip. 

“Having fun?” Jack sounded amused.

“Yeah.” The general had to keep from groaning. “We’re going to continue this back at our hotel.”

Walking out of the bar casually was an experience. His leg hurt. She gripped his hand like she was trying to break it. Another loud sound startled her and she dug her nails into his hand. By the time they reached the street, the general wondered if he was bleeding.

He handed Jack the napkin as they walked up the street. 

“What do you know about the charity in Belgium?” Jack asked.

“It’s not a charity, Captain Harkness.”

Jack stopped and looked at her. “You can tell us apart?”

She laughed a less than pleasant sound. “General Williams radiates Rift energy like a beacon on a stormy night.”

“How do you know us?” The general asked. He didn’t use his title outside Torchwood.

She released his hand looking guilty. “I belonged to the Fellowship of Inner Peace.”

The general rubbed his hand. “You left the Refuge?”

“No. I was out of the country when your people invaded my home.”

Jack held his hands out. “We’re looking for a connection to Antwerp.”

Yasmin nodded. “There is a research facility north of town.”

“Kids?” The general asked.

She shook her head. “Biomechs. Really scary biomechs.”

“Do you have an address?” Jack removed his mobile from his pocket.

“No.” She explained its location.

Jack sent the text message. “We need to get you out of here.”

“No. I’m going home.”

“It’s not safe.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “You killed The Prophet. His people raided my home and abducted my family.” She took off running.

 

Azrael watched from a distance until Yasmin started running. He knew what Jack and the general would do next, and would find them there. Yasmin needed him more. She stopped running several blocks, when a three men stepped from an alley in front of her. 

One advantage to being incorporeal was speed. He crossed the distance in a blink-of-an-eye positioning himself between Yasmin and the men. One of the trio was a biomech potentially as dangerous as Kol. The Gordon-Glen situation was worse than he thought.

“What did Torchwood want?” Thug One demanded in Danish.

“What?”

“The men you were with,” Thug two said, “What did they want?”

“I made a bad decision to leave the bar with them. They scared me.”

The biomech stepped forward. “You’re a bad liar.”

Azrael materialized between Yasmin and the men.  “Leave her be.” 

“What are you?” Thug One demanded.

Yasmin stared a moment before averting her eyes.  “The Prophet.” 

The biomech reached for a weapon. Azrael’s form blurred as he reached toward the energy specific to biomechanics. It flowed outward, around Azrael. The biomech’s eyes clouded over and he hit the ground with a thud. The energy danced over him before dissipating.

Thugs One and Two turned as ran. 

“Do you have a mobile?” Azrael dragged the body into the nearby alley.

She nodded, removing it from her pocket.

“Switch it to speaker phone and dial this number.” He recited the familiar digits.

Her hands shook as she followed his instructions. It rang.

“Hello?” Idrissa said.

“Yasmin needs to come home. There is a body with her. A third gen biomech requiring special containment.”

“Where?”

Azrael provided details. 

“I need ten minutes.”

 

** Torchwood Three **

Ianto Jones met Jack by the large door when he returned with the general. It was good to see them safe. The burglary plans didn’t worry him, but another possible facility did. After the connection he found between the London clinic and Manchester, his anxiety flared. Torchwood had already cost him too much.

“Do we have any information on former Fellowship of Inner Peace residents?”

“Some. Why?”

“We need information about a Yasmin from Denmark.”

“I was monitoring law enforcement with one of Tosh’s devices. From before. It translated police reports.”

Jack turned back. “Are you all right?”

“No.”

“What happened?”  Jack ran a hand lightly up Ianto’s arm. 

Ianto shook his head. “I found something I can’t deal with right now.”

Jack gently took Ianto’s hand. “You can rest. Taking down a biomech facility requires a lot of research and planning. It’s not happening tonight.”

“It’s like Cattrel.”

“What?”

Tears welled in his eyes again. “I connected the London clinic to Manchester. Seven fake death certificates were signed by a doctor that worked in Manchester after the Institute burned.”

Jack hugged him. 

“You’re not going after a corporation, you’re taking on Torchwood.” Ianto pressed his face to Jack’s shoulder and held on tight. “If they’re from the future, they know you.”

“We will figure it out.” Jack kissed the top of Ianto’s head. 

“It’s not the only problem. The police received an emergency call blocks from the bar. Three men approached a terrified woman. Another man intervened. He dragged one of the three into an alley. When the police arrived, there was no one there. They have three witnesses with the same story about a man that appeared from nowhere to protect the woman.” Ianto paused. “I asked Luc to check the area. There is quantum energy and indications of a portal device.”

“Azrael.”

“He rescued Luc. He rescued a woman that probably belonged to the Fellowship. The Refuge suddenly decided to take over the Nigeria office and send the Fellowship people back.”

“Idrissa?”

“Yeah. The original quantum entanglement devices came from Nigeria. He has access to Torchwood’s storehouse of dangerous alien technology.”

 

Jack Harkness considered an insane idea. He accessed Torchwood’s system, from the main floor workstations, and scanned for unexplained energy. There was quantum energy in the hub after he and the general returned from Global. Something followed them when they entered the local charity. He sent Luc a quick message to scan Compassion and Mercy for quantum energy.

“What are you looking for?” The general asked.

“We were followed from Torchwood to Denmark. The same entity that climbed in the window with us.”

“What are you thinking?” The general sounded familiar even through the Welsh accent.

“Idrissa doesn’t like Aman coming to Cardiff. After Aman arrives, the hub has quantum energy and we’re followed.”

The general tilted his head. “You think Idrissa sent Azrael to check on Aman.”

“Yeah.” Jack paused. “Why did the Keara from this time go back to Nigeria?”

“She wanted to go home.”

“Keara went home. Yasmin wanted to go home. The Refuge is sending the Fellowship people back to Nigeria.”

“If Idrissa is working with Azrael, he may be rebuilding future Aman’s legacy.”

Jack shook his head slightly. “No. The Fellowship was a cult with one leader.”

“Jack, he’s dead. You watched Aman die.”

“I watched a device implode. We have no idea where those devices came from. They disrupted the barriers between universes, and dislodged my connection to time and space. A connection caused by Time Lord technology.”

The general obviously didn’t want to consider the possibility. “Say it is Aman, Jack. What is he doing?”

“He and I had a lot in common?”

“Yeah. It’s how you bonded and why you couldn’t live together.”

“What did I do when I recovered from the island explosion?” Jack took a moment. “I came home, assured Ianto I was all right, and went back to work.”


	15. Chapter 15

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Anwen Williams had questions. She followed her mum into the conference room. Uncle Jack sat at the head of the table as usual. The general sat next to him instead of Ianto. Owen sat one seat down from Jack on the opposite side of the table. From the amount of tablets, it was a complicated project. 

“Why is the kid here?” Owen needed caffeine.

“Because unlike you, I’m needed.” Anwen sat next to the general and smiled at Owen.

The general reached over and rested his arm on her head. “It’s been a long night.”

“Yeah. What genius tried to access the Institute and Global mainframes in the middle of the night? I received four notifications. It took me an hour to get Trefor back to sleep.”

“Breach?” Jack asked.

“The person was trying to access command controls.” Anwen held up her hands. “The hub wasn’t reporting an intruder, so I assumed someone was stupid. I triggered one of my programs, the Elmer Fudd voice, and it stopped.”

Jack rubbed his face. “We had an intruder. Did he access anything?”

“Not that I know of. Without John, I might not be able to tell.”

“She maintains the computers?” Owen asked.

Anwen groaned. “Why is he here?”

Her mum passed out coffee before claiming her seat between Jack and Owen. “The armored vehicle disappeared from police impound overnight. I left a message for Cowley telling him you missed him and wanted to meet for lunch.”

The general looked up from what what he was reading. “What?”

“Dr. Floyd started a rumor that I was involved romantically involved with Cowley. He opted not to argue it. People assume that is why we meet,” Jack explained.

“Luc sent the warehouse information connected to the mercenaries,” Gwen said. “Scan readings suggest technology was used to scrub the location.”

The intercom clicked. “Jack, Danish media is reporting an explosion at a manufacturing plant north of Esjberg. The same location Yasmin provided. Emergency services received an anonymous tip about chemicals.”

Gwen’s mobile rang. She excused herself and disappeared into the hallway.

“Contact Luc and get drones in the air.”

“Already did. I’ll follow up.” The intercom clicked off.

Anwen quickly found her phone and checked social media. “Uncle Jack, there are several Mothmen sightings near the factory. People are comparing it to the movie.”

“Mothmen?” The general looked toward her mobile.

Anwen held it out. “Black wings, red eyes, bizarre warnings.”

Jack tapped his ear com. “Dmitri.”

“Did I need to be at the meeting?”

“No. There were Mothmen sightings in Denmark. Can Icelus manifest?”

“As a really creepy dog. Few people can see the brothers’ true forms in dreams.”

“Thanks.” Jack tapped his ear com off.

Owen looked unsure he wanted to know. “Who or what is Icelus?”

“One of three ancient beings that can enter dreams. They look like demons.”

“Mr. Zhao used sulfur to make the temporary ME look like an idiot. The Mothmen stories make the witnesses sound crazy. Someone has already suggested the area water or air is contaminated.”

“Azrael,” the general said. “Torchwood has a history of using myths and legends to distract people.”

Owen shook his head. “The angel of death?”

“He needs to work on his aliases.” Jack commented absently, obviously thinking about something else.

The door slid open again, and Gwen returned. “That was Interpol. The current theory is military-grade explosives were used. The military has sectioned off the area. There are reports of Terminators from emergency responders. I advised them to shoot the biomechs until they stop moving.”

“Do we have reasonable weapons?” The general asked. “The Chula warships are solid against alien ships not biomech facilities.”

“Yeah. Luc jury-rigged anti-biomech weapons. John has designs.” Anwen grabbed a tablet. “Molecular destabilization.” She handed it to the general. 

The general looked exasperated. “John shouldn’t have you designing weapons.”

Anwen smiled. “If I hadn’t had John create that maintenance bot program, it wouldn’t have been modified, the bots wouldn’t be dangerous, and the biomechs would have handed you your arse.”

“We were requested by Interpol,” Gwen said. “The EU is already demanding answers. The Hague has sent an investigator.”

“Jack, I need John’s weapons designs and inventory files. Four needs to replicate weapons for all offices.” The general paused. “Except Nigeria.”

“Have the pills been replicated?” Owen asked.

“Yeah. You need to run comparison scans. Your science equipment is better.”

Jack held up his hands. “Anwen, give the general access to John’s files and start running Global searches on biomechs. Gwen, I need you to stay in the hub and coordinate with law enforcement. General, Owen needs the pills immediately. Owen I need a report as soon as you as you can; your priority is the kids.” He took a moment. “I’m going back to Esjberg.”

 

** (former biomech facility); North of Esbjerg, Denmark **

Jack Harkness portaled into the area. Smoke rose from the ruins. The intense smell made his eyes water. He scanned the area. From the remaining technology, there was no doubt it had been a biomech facility. The similarities between this location and the Caribbean island suggested the same people behind it. The remaining question was how or why Torchwood research led to creating soldiers. 

“Was this you?” Other Keara walked up to him sounding overwhelmed.

“No.”

She sighed. 

“Is this another branch of Torchwood?”

“Originally.” She motioned toward the burning rubble in the distance. “This technology is suicidal.”

Jack agreed. “What started the biomech programs on Earth?”

She held her hands out. “Stupidity.”

“Why were these biomechs made? What is the organization trying to defend or attack?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Ronald Beaupre’s network was terrifying. In this universe, it’s worse. Torchwood, for all it’s sins, had a goal of saving the planet.”

Jack wondered if she knew about the potential for the aquatic alien research. “The antibody research has a possibility. It could reverse a partial Cybermen or other damage caused by alien technology.”

Other Keara nodded. “Kol thought of that. He thinks someone is trying to use this universe’s connection to other universes to change Earth’s long-term position in the galactic community.”

“Imperialism?” 

“It’s probably self-defense through domination.” She closed her eyes. “Why can’t people learn?”

“We need to work together.”

“It doesn’t matter at this point, Jack. There is no way back from this.”

Jack felt the entity he’d sensed earlier. “We have to try.”

Azrael materialized on Jack’s other side. “You do not know everything.”

“Is this your facility?” Other Keara asked.

“No. My biomech program recruited adult volunteers. These people are producing clones and experimenting on children.”

Jack crossed his arms. “We can end this.”

“Your time changes give Anwen control over the entire Torchwood network?” Azrael asked.

“Unintentionally.”

Azrael nodded. “Have Anwen activate the master controls in the Falklands. It will list the active facilities and allow access.”

“That’s a declaration of war.”

“Yes and no. By forcing control of the entire network, it shows valid leadership. Jack is the public face of Torchwood. Your news articles publicized that he earned his position. The various groups have probably been told that Jack’s power is based solely on being the last leader standing.” Azrael looked at Jack. “You need to prove otherwise. Assert control, rebuild London, and take a stand. Address the European Union and United Nations. Alien technology and contact is a global threat. Point out the difference between national security and endangering the planet.”

“We need detailed plans.”

“Create them. You have the people, Jack. My community can gather intel. Between Felda Eirmann and Kailen, you have access to both computer skills and a generation of rebellious hackers. Science, medical, investigative and research. The Refuge will join you. Have Gwen recruit the American arse that calls you WWII.”

Jack nodded. “Why wasn’t I in charge of Torchwood Global?”

“Anwen prefers bureaucracy to chasing Hoix through supermarkets,” Other Keara said.


	16. Chapter 16

Nessa’s Flat; Dublin, Ireland

** Saturday, February 6, 2021 **

General Trefor Williams woke to cold feet against his legs. It took a moment to remember he was in Nessa’s flat. The stress had been insane in the last week and they’d decided to go out. He checked the time on his mobile. He didn’t want to be awake at 7 AM on a Saturday morning. 

“What time is it?” Aisling asked from behind him. 

“Early.”

She pressed her forehead to his back. “Go back to sleep.”

Nessa touched his arm from Aisling’s other side. “Everything all right?”

“I don’t know.” He had an uneasy feeling. While it was probably left over from a bad dream, he couldn’t shake it.

A quick check of local news, and the general knew he wasn’t getting back to sleep. He skimmed the article. Pending the details were correct, it offered an excuse to check out a Rossister company. The downside it was probably not a freak accident.

“Find something?” The bed shifted as Nessa sat up.

“The idiot company with the trucks.” The general hoped she’d make the connection. He didn’t want to discuss it in front of Nessa’s friend.

“A Torchwood case?” Aisling asked. “Do you have to go back to Wales?”

The general dropped his head and groaned.

“What?” Aisling propped herself up behind him. “The online videos and news reports say you’re based in Cardiff.”

“That’s not Trefor.” Nessa sounded amused. 

He stood. “I need a shower.”

“What?” Aisling asked, confused.

“The guy in the videos with the distinctive clothes,” Nessa explained, “Is Trefor’s father.”

The general shook his head and headed for the bathroom. It was going to be a long day.

 

** Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales **

Ianto Jones knocked at what had been John’s flat across the hall. After the attack at the grocery store, Ken moved back into the building. Bree had reservations about him being alone. Between the aliens and John’s disappearance, Ken was having a rough time.

He opened the door wearing the pajamas Ianto remembered John borrowing for a meeting once. Ken needed to shower and shave, but was looking better than last night. He stopped back and motioned Ianto into the flat. “I’m still alive.”

Ianto nodded. “You’re coming into the office today.”

“Why?”

“I need help with inventory.” The truth was Ken needed something to do.

Ken shook his head. 

“All three of the kids will be there. You can spend some time with Michael.” 

“Have you heard from John?” Ken was worried. They all were for one reason or another. 

“No. He’ll come back.”

“For Anwen.”

Ianto wondered if he sounded that bad when he was anxious about Jack. “Ken, Anwen isn’t competition.” No matter what she thought. John was afraid of her half the time. 

“I shouldn’t have left him.” 

Ianto’s mobile rang. “Shower. Shave.” He motioned with one hand toward the bedroom door and found his phone with the other. 

Ken sighed and trudged toward the bathroom. 

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number. “Hello?”

“Thank God,” Cory Lynch said. “Jack’s not answering. I overheard something a couple hours ago. I had to get out of there before I could call.”

“What happened?” Ianto tried to remember what he knew about Cory other than Jack’s casual relationship with him. The younger man owned an event planning business in London.

“Not everyone on Whitehall wants the Torchwood Institute rebuilt. I think there’s going to be an assassination attempt.” He took a moment to compose himself. “They were talking about Jack shagging two women in Dublin last night. I’m guessing they’re targeting Jack’s son.”

Ianto forgot Cory knew about the general. He’d seen him at a coffee shop impersonating Jack and took a picture of him. “Are you safe?”

“Yeah.”

“If you need help call Scotland Yard and ask for DCI Lacene Harpham. Tell them you have urgent information on one of her cases, and refuse to provide details. She’s terrifying, but she’ll help.”

“Thank you.”

Ianto realized where Cory got the information after the call ended. He shagged powerful, older men who hadn’t come out of the closet. They gave him presents and event referrals.

 

** Rossister Pharmaceuticals; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams felt ridiculous checking the mirror again. It wasn’t the first time he’d been mistaken for Jack; it wouldn’t be the last. Annoyed more with himself than Aisling he stepped from the car. He parked a few spaces back from the Gardai patrol cars and the medical examiner’s vehicle. 

“Trefor!” Rogan Spaulding jogged over. The late thirty-something Garda worked for the Crime and Security Branch although his duties hadn't been explained. He appeared to be some type of special investigator that also coordinated with different law enforcement groups throughout Europe. “What’s wrong?” He asked quietly.

The general shook his head. It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. 

“I’m sorry about last night,” Rogan said uneasily. “I’m not comfortable with the arrangement you have with your girlfriend.”

“It’s fine. We’ll have drinks another night.” 

Rogan gave it a moment. “The information we gave the media was inaccurate.”

“How bad?”

“Scene review and evidence collection is a hazmat situation. Night security handed over CCTV footage before management arrived. It’s not great, but an argument in a loading dock over a truck resulted in the plant manager and an unknown man getting beaten to death. We’re working on identifying the killer and both victims from decent images.”

“I need to see the video. Did they take the truck?”

Rogan hesitated. “The case is sensitive.

“Have you seen the reports from a week ago about Esjberg?” The general paused. “I need to see the killer’s behavior. There is an unconfirmed connection between Rossister and a charity in Esbjerg. That charity connects to the destroyed manufacturing plant and the Antwerp charity with the bioweapons.”

Rogan swore under his breath. “Proof?”

“I can provide evidence that Kevan Rossister caused the fake alien sightings on New Years that coincidentally kept me running all over Dublin while Rossister trucks headed south at a strange hour.”

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

“We suspected they were shipping black market study drugs but can’t prove it. Kevan is known for dealing drugs at his school.”

Rogan rubbed his face. 

“I have better facial recognition software. It has access to databases you don’t.”

 

** Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales **

Gwen Cooper entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Rhys while he cooked breakfast. She’d been up most of the night coordinating with law enforcement. The Denmark explosion increased the number of reports. Worried police officers generally coincided with an increase in bored teenagers. A prank involving a WWII era bunker resulted in uncovering old munitions. She pressed her face to her husband’s back. The small town officer called at 3 AM to ask if Jack knew how to evaluate and disarm explosives. It took an hour, and waking up four people in three countries to find someone with the right experience. The urgency was that two teens were trapped in the bunker and rescue workers were terrified their efforts would kill them.

“Another bad call?”

That wake up call had been the worst. “An honor killing went wrong. The young man got alien tech from somewhere. Apparently honor killings are legal there. Taking out half the men in his extended family in self-defense isn’t.”

“That’s a bad one.” Rhys ran a hand over Gwen’s arm and gripped one of her hands. “Is Jack getting the guy out?”

“He’s already in Nigeria. The Refuge has established psychiatric facilities.” She sighed. 

“There is something strange about the Refuge taking over the Nigeria compound. I’ve gotten the impression the Refuge people want nothing to do with it.”

“Jack isn’t telling us something.” Not that that was new. 

Anwen walked into the kitchen. “Social media reports from Dublin say there was a homicide at a Rossister company and ‘sources close to the national police’ are reporting Torchwood is on-site. Uncle Jack wore  normal clothes to the crime scene.”

Gwen groaned. “The general will love that.”

“Oh.” Anwen paused. “People are accusing a Kevan Rossister of distributing bad Ecstasy pills on New Years.” She took a moment. “Weak CN and Ecstasy are similar. Did he fake a CN scare?”

Rhys shook his head slightly and grabbed a plate off the counter. “Can Torchwood wait until after breakfast?”

Trefor walked up next to his sister gripping his Millennium Falcon replica. “Make my ship fly.” He nudged his sister.

“No telekinesis in the kitchen,” Gwen commented absently.

Rhys started laughing.

 

** Rossister Pharmaceuticals; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams felt the uneasiness return as he reviewed the security footage on a laptop outside the loading dock crime scenes. There was no doubt the killer was a biomech. The overly brutish appearance and extreme violence suggested a first generation. Depending on how the biomechanical augmentation was accomplished, and the subject enhanced, the biomech was previously a street fighter, a steroid user or both.

He casually moved his hand near an available USB port and plugged in a device that would connect the laptop to his mobile. The footage would than be uploaded to a secured cloud and accessible from Four or Nova Scotia. The images were clear enough for facial recognition. The thug was probably identifiable through usual channels, but the others should be simple.

The low-tech concerned him. Moss-Probert had first gen biomechs except they used pliable subjects. Thomas, with his extraordinary strength and alien metal exoskeleton was non-aggressive to point of submissiveness. Either they hadn’t destroyed Moss-Probert or another corporation had similar research. 

The general’s mobile rang. “Williams.”

“You need to portal out now,” Ianto said.

A quick check of his portal device said he couldn’t. “I can’t.”

“I received information that a possible hit squad is coming after you. You’ve been mistaken for Jack.”

He heard combat boots running on pavement a moment later. “I’ve got incoming. Probable military. Probable biomech.” The phone went dead before he could request back-up.

The general backed into the building and tapped his ear com. “Four, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to contact everyone who lives there who isn’t there and tell them their lives are in danger. They need to portal home now. Don’t let anyone leave.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“You need to stay outside,” Rogan said. 

The general kept backing up. “We’re under attack. Mobiles are out.”

“What?”

“Get behind me, Rogan. I can sense them.” 

The general moved between his friend and the enemy as the Rift energy built around him. The first man walked into the building and his uniform resembled the biomechs from the Caribbean. When his Rift ability lashed out, the man deflected it, shimmering with an impressive energy shield. “Run!”

As Rift energy continued to detonate, the five-man squad continued forward. “Four, contact Global and tell Keara I’m dealing with a second or third gen biomech squad armed with anti-Rift shields and weapons. Send a notification to all offices that this location is a death trap.”

The general pushed Rogan through an open door and shut it behind him. With no real options, he quickly rigged the knob with a stun pellet. It might get one of them. He then grabbed Rogan’s arm and half dragged him. When he spotted a security door, he used his wrist-strap to pick the lock. It opened slowly as the previous door slammed the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

He checked his portal device again. It was inoperable. The only person he knew of who could portal through interference was Aman in the future. Which reminded him of what Jack suspected about Azrael.

“Four, send Idrissa an SOS explaining the situation. They are using technology that is probably derived from Nigeria artifact storage.”

“Who are you talking to?” Rogan asked as the general worked to pick another security door.

“My office.” The general didn’t want to explain he was giving instructions to an alien AI.

After passing through another door, the general sensed more threats coming from the opposite direction. He shoved Rogan into what appeared to a janitor’s closet.

“Four, I’ve been flanked.” 

“General Williams,” Malcolm said over the ear com connection, “I’m coming to get you. Hold on.”

Malcolm materialized in front of him as another door was knocked off its hinges. He grabbed them by their shirts and they disappeared.


	17. Chapter 17

** Kylia’s Parallel Universe **

** Torchwood Institute; London, England **

** Summer 2060 **

Kylia (Jones) Harkness sat behind what had once been her grandfather’s desk. The timeworn wooden desk claimed most of her office floor space, but it made her smile. It had been a wedding present from Gray’s grandfather. She had no idea how Jack arranged it. 

Unlike her new desk, the ongoing puzzle didn’t amuse her. Everything they knew about Antarctica said the ship had been freed. As with any Torchwood mystery the question was not simply how the ship was freed but how it was trapped in a dimension with conflicting laws of physics.

For whatever reason, Gray’s cousin at the Observatory refused to work with anyone else. That left Kylia struggling to assist with a project she couldn’t possibly understand. During the on-site investigation, Gray asked about an African excavation. That meant working with another of his cousins. For whatever reason, Ettie Thirion refused to talk to her much younger cousin in Nigeria. One of the varied quirks in dealing with her mother-in-law’s family.

“What did you find, Renee?” Kylia asked over a video conference.

“I don’t know, Mrs. Harkness. The devices found in the 1900s are similar to technology uncovered in a labyrinthine cave system under an island in Southeast Asia.”

“Could it be from the same source? Ancient people transported the technology for some reason?”

“Doubtful, ma’am. The technological is hazardous to humans.”

“How did it get into the caves?”

Renee hesitated. “Theories vary. Some are out there. From the scan readings, I would say the technology phased in from another universe. It fits what we know about the technology. The complication is that regardless of how it arrived, it should have the same affect on everything not just humans.”

“It’s possible the negative affect can be switched off?”

“It happened so it’s possible.” Renee shrugged.

“What do you mean by phased?”

The younger woman looked uncertain how to explain. “We know things can move between universes although it’s theoretically impossible. When an item moves through the barrier it transitions from one set law of physics to another set. Physics is suppose to be absolute. It is and it isn’t. Phasing, or transitioning, is impossible but it’s not.” 

Kylia wondered if the reason Ettie and Renee wouldn’t talk to each other is because they viewed reality much the same way but from very different angles. “’It happened so it’s possible,’” Kylia quoted. “With what you said about phasing and physics, how does a spaceship we can perceive enter a dimension we can’t?”

“That’s the problem. I can only guess that someone capable of moving between dimensions did it. Inter-dimensional aliens would have to have the technology necessary to perceive dimensions outside the limitations of their own reality.”

Kylia felt a headache forming. “Say an inter-dimensional alien stowed the ship and removed it. Why are we still getting readings?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the alien had to create a pocket dimension. A type of garage for the spaceship where it was suspended between conflicting dimensions.”

That concept Kylia could understand. “We’ve had three known attempts to access that garage. What use does it have without the spaceship?”

“The same thing as any garage. You park your vehicle or vehicles and you use the extra space for storage.”

“Is there any way to check the contents?”

“I guess. Why?”

“If the aliens stored a ship from this dimension, they could have stored a ship from their dimension?”

Renee nodded. “Except we’d have to be able to perceive the technology. That would require an inter-dimensional alien. Why would they help us get one of their ships?”

“They could need something from us to access it.”

“That would be bad. The aliens that built it have the keys. It’s not like breaking a window or bypassing a lock. Breaching the barrier between this dimension and whatever the garage is would end badly for whatever universe was exposed to it.”

Kylia sat starting at her screen after Renee disconnected. There were only two possible people, or one person and one artificial intelligence, that could possibly make sense of the situation. She called her father-in-law at Three. She needed to speak to his father, and Trefor might be the only one who knew how to find. The goal was a conference call with Jack and Torchwood Four.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

** Saturday, February 6, 2021 **

Ianto Jones sat at the conference table watching Jack pace angrily. From a quick conversation with the general, they knew it was close. It was decided they would tell London the wrong person was targeted. It added various complications, and required explaining a few things, but it transferred the target to Jack. Depending on the result of their security assessment, they would relocate Ken, Dmitri and Bree.

The office phone rang. “Good morning.”

“With whom am I speaking?” Prime Minister Hazel Bransom asked.

“Ianto Jones, the office manager of Torchwood Three.”

“I need to speak with Captain Harkness.”

“He can hear you, ma’am. The situation is particularly difficult because the paramilitary unit in Dublin mistook Jack’s son for him.”

“Son?”

“Yes, ma’am. Trefor is the head of the Dublin Torchwood office. He went to discuss reports of an unusual homicide with Rogan Spaulding, a federal investigator. Both survived unharmed, but it was close. Mr. Spaulding is under Torchwood protection until it can be determined exactly what happened.” Ianto eyed Jack. The sudden still was worse than the pacing.

She paused. “According to my information, the name used is Trefor Williams. The same name as one of your co-workers children.”

“An unfortunate coincidence. Trefor needed a new surname and chose a very common one.”

She took a moment. “Witness reports say a spaceship left a crater in the car park. Six gunmen were seen entering the facility. There is evidence of unusual technology. When the police cleared the building, there were no bodies or equipment.”

“It’s Torchwood policy to remove or destroy hazardous remains and dangerous technology. All six men were biomechanically enhanced similar to the facilities in the Caribbean and Esbjerg, Denmark.”

She made an unhappy sound. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve been tracking corporations involved in unethical research. We’re unsure why they’re producing super soldiers, but the science is very advanced and based on alien technology. It’s somehow connected to Noble Industries.” Ianto paused. “The bioweapon is complicated. It’s actual purpose is to expose children to harvest their antibodies as part of bioengineering research and development.”

The prime minister hesitated. “Has progress been made to treat the exposed children?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re confident we will be able to reverse most of the genetic damage. Unfortunately all of the children will require Torchwood observation for life.”

“Captain Harkness, this sounds to complicated for your small organization.”

Jack slowly approached the table. “No. Several Torchwood agents, a few we temporarily recruited in the United States, ended the nightmare the media called Miracle Day. A similar number prevented the world’s governments from handing over millions of children to the 456.” He paused to compose his temper. “We need more people and resources. Unfortunately, our greatest obstacle are various governments. The corporations could not operate without government and law enforcement connections.” He took a deep breath. “We’ve discussed rebuilding the Institute. The last assassination attempt was from London trying to prevent Torchwood from resolving the 456 situation.”

“We had nothing to do with the attack on your son.”

“Ma’am, I’ve been with Torchwood longer than you’ve been a politician. Two hit squads have come after my people in the last couple weeks. Someone provided aliens information on another agent; his boyfriend and son were both targeted in simultaneous attacks. These were bold and public. Organized crime doesn’t operate in the open. Corporations committing war crimes do not operate publicly unless they have every expectation that they’re protected.”

“That’s insane.”

“Ma’am,” Ianto injected, “Both London and UNIT people attempted to smuggle contaminated biological samples from the medical facility housing the children. They had valid paperwork authorizing them to transport dangerous materials using substandard procedures and endangering everyone they encountered. One of the doctors attempted to abduct a child, was exposed, and committed suicide in front of his intended victim.” He paused. “It is a reasonable conclusion that Torchwood is at odds with government agencies.” He gave it a few moments. “One of the conflicts with social services is that some of the children we rescued from the former nursing home disappeared from care.”

“What do you need me to do?” Bransom asked quietly.

“Start with Madeline Shadwick. She had unusual information about the corporate research, and made irrational demands. One involved Powell Beddoe. He was connected to Noble Industries and various felonies in Cardiff. Shadwick wanted me to turn over Beddoe’s ex-girlfriend, a victim of domestic violence, to his family claiming the woman was his fiance. Investigating that situation lead to a paramilitary attack on one of my people.”


	18. Chapter 18

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams stood outside his office surrounded by the Dove family, Molly, and the kids for a group hug. Xiu stood back watching. Rogan leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. The general knew his friend was going to have more trouble facing what he learned about Torchwood than the close call.

The intruder alarm sounded. Before the general could query the computer, future Aman or Azrael materialized as he walked down the hall.

“Four, end alarm.” When the sound ended, he added, “Thanks.”

“How did you know?” Azrael asked sounding exactly like the man he’d known most of his life.

“Jack figured it out.” The general kissed the top of Nessa’s head. “I need to talk to our guest. Azrael?”

He shrugged. “It sounded good at the time.”

The general smiled. That was something Jack often said. “You need to work on your aliases. Mum and Anwen decided you’re a cartoon cat.”

Azrael laughed. 

The general made introductions. “Azrael is a friend of Jack’s.”

“The angel of death?” Rogan asked quietly.

“No.” Azrael looked at the general. “Civilian?”

“Yeah. Hold on.” The general looked at each of the Doves and Molly. “We’re safe. Jeannette, will you contact Liam and tell him everything is okay?”

She nodded. “He needs to come home.”

“I’ll talk to him.” The general assured. “Malcolm will you get Rogan settled into a suite?”

“Yeah.”

Xiu waited with arms crossed. “You need to deal with these corporations before they unleash those soldiers on civilians. They’re coming after Torchwood because we threaten their power. When people find out, and this will leak, there will be accusations against governments. People will protest. Groups with this kind of power don’t tolerate protesters.” 

“It’s not going to come to that.”

She nodded and then headed down the hall.

The general lead into his office. “I appreciate the help.”

“Idrissa is concerned about Xiu. He wants her come home.”

“She’s safe. Four is harder to breach than Nigeria.” The general sat behind his desk.

“Thank you for defending the compound while I was gone.” Azrael sat across from him. 

The general shrugged. 

Azrael gave it a moment. “The child is right. This situation will escalate.”

“Yeah. We did this before and we will do it again.”

“I have a different idea.”

The general looked at Azrael.

“Beaupre has unknown connections in South America. He recruited my father from Brazil. Why? What did my father offer that wasn’t available in South Africa? Beaupre sent Basanjo after me. He’s dead and biomechs from South America are targeting the version of me in this time. Has anyone considered why?”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Aman Oliveira stood in a workroom staring at a map of Europe, trying to imagine how he would establish a covert network. Either Gordon-Glen was based in Great Britain, or Cardiff uncovered one section. They’d found connections with various corporations, but their projects appeared independent. Moss-Probert researched genetic manipulation that wasn’t specific to biomechs nor as advanced. Cattrel researched dragons, CN and were connected to charities that researched genetics and Rift abilities. Gordon-Glen experimented with the aquatic aliens and producing the antibodies used to make pills attributed to Rossister. All of it, even the London sleep center, traced back to Torchwood.

Known Torchwood offices were located in places that previously belonged to Great Britain or were still connected. Aman quickly found a list of former British colonies, and his thoughts went in a different direction. Twenty children potentially disappeared from an orphanage in Honduras. The country gained independence from Great Britain in the 1960s. Guyana, which bordered Brazil, also gained its independence in the 1960s. The same as Nigeria. South Africa gained theirs in 1910. It made him wonder why Torchwood would be interested in those locations.

Cardiff was established for the Rift. The Observatory offered a location for dangerous research without endangering a community or risking exposure. Nigeria was established because of alien technology discovered in Africa. Atmore researched and protected an area affected by alien technology.

If there was a Torchwood office in Guyana, and the prophecy from South America wasn’t a cover to kill him for another reason, that could potentially connect his father to Beaupre. He recruited a hitman based out of Brazil and relocated him to Cape Town. If there was anything there, it meant there was probably a Torchwood facility in South Africa. But the question of why bothered Aman.

He didn’t have details from his father, but he did have paperwork from the other version of himself. He went back to Brazil to get married. He evacuated Idrissa to Brazil before going to the island in Southeast Asia. That suggested he felt safe for some reason. Something changed.

Aman had no idea how to assess culture and mythology. He sent Matt a text message. After pressing send, he thought about Atmore. Even if Other Keara manipulated circumstances for specific people, she didn’t create the technology. They’d assumed it malfunctioned, and the current time shift was unique. Except there were reports of people disappearing into thin air in front of witnesses. While most of those stories, including missing time and alien abductions were probably fake, that didn’t mean they all were.

Where did Other Keara get the technology to travel through time and universes? The strangest and most dangerous alien technology was found in Africa; they weren’t entire sure how to why. Idrissa mentioned Other Keara visited to check on something and she had full access. The space station, Four and Atmore all had advanced alien technology. Why did the aliens leave it? Aman suddenly had the impression there was something a lot older and more powerful happening than one crazy former Torchwood agent trying to manipulate time. 

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Toshiko Sato overrode the security to the private room next to the infirmary. After her experience in a UNIT cell, she swore she’d never be a prisoner again. There was nothing she could do against the implants. Without them, there wasn’t a room that could hold her. Although it was a different hub, the computer and programming were nearly the same. Escaping took a few minutes and no effort. She walked the familiar hallways. It felt like coming home.

She found a tablet in a robotics workshop. The security feature denying her access was annoying, but understandable. She headed for what had once been a research lab. Owen placed a name plaque over a previous label on the door. The remains of a Canadian flag sticker was partially covered by a “do not disturb” sign. 

Tosh smiled entering the lab. It didn’t take much to guess Owen took it over from a previous agent and was trying to stake a claim. So much was different. So much was the same. She crossed the room looking for a panel in the back. The Toshiko from this universe was a lot like herself. She removed a stash of dusty equipment. It needed review and repair, but would work. She kept the custom device necessary to override the restriction on her access and re-establish her Torchwood profile, and returned the rest. 

A part of her wonder as she accessed a computer if Jack was extremely distracted or giving her the opportunity to prove her skills. If there was a crisis, she needed to be helping not tucked away waiting for another session with the shrink. Dr. Nelson was kind, but Tosh suspected the younger woman needed psychiatric care more.

Ten minutes later, she had full access to the system, and accessed her file. She didn’t want to know the cause of death or other details. She focused on editing it. Removing the deceased classification reactivated her clearance. She didn’t have full access, but it was enough to find out what was happening.

 

Anwen Williams sat at John’s desk watching internal CCTV. The door opened. She looked up as her mother entered the office with lunch. Ianto would have complained, but the general’s near-miss had him determined to find something about the attackers.

“What are you watching?” Her mum set the bags on the desk.

“Ms. Sato escaped. She’s in Luc’s lab reinstating her credentials.”

“Tosh is back.” Her mum smiled. “Has she done anything suspicious?”

Ianto looked up from across the room.

“No. She wandered around. The system hack was specific to regaining access.”

“I should go.”

“Mum,” Anwen said, “Ms. Sato was abducted from a place she had no control. She woke up here scared out of her mind with no say over what was happening to her. Everyone tries to protect her.” She motioned at the screen. “Give her a chance to make choices.” As many times as she’d woken up in the infirmary in the last year and a half, Anwen sympathized.

“Can you keep Tosh from leaving?” Ianto sounded concerned.

“Yeah.”

“I need to tell Jack.”

Anwen smiled. “I already did, mum.”


	19. Chapter 19

** Whitchurch Hospital; Cardiff, Wales **

** Monday, February 8, 2021 **

Jack Harkness knocked lightly on the door before opening it. Bobby Zhao occupied an uncomfortable looking chair in the corner. He stood as Jack entered. That potentially explained a few things. Jack set a small, cheerful bouquet of flowers in a basket on the windowsill as Zhao stepped out of the room. 

“You brought me flowers,” Cowley commented, pushing himself up on the hospital bed. “Your boyfriend is jealous and carries a gun.”

Jack chuckled. “Ianto picked them out.” 

“Why are you here?”

The humor fled. “I was told you refused a security detail.” Jack put the railing down and sat on the edge of the bed. “My son was attacked on Saturday. He was mistaken for me. A friend of mine in London was attacked yesterday. The current theory is it was because of me.”

Cowley shook his head slightly. “I’ve been investigating Powell Beddoe’s murder. I found a connection between Beddoe and the men who attacked Dr. Floyd at the library. Less than twelve hours after submitting that information my flat was trashed, my car was stolen, and a man I’ve arrested three or four times for domestic violence was told I had an affair with his wife.” He shifted and grimaced. “That’s who attacked me and why.”

“Is Zhao providing security or wanting information?”

“Both.”

With one less concern, Jack returned to the hallway. Previously, the rumors were funny. He needed to end them somehow. Protecting Ianto was complicated at times. He had no idea how many people could be targeted over imaginary relationships.

His mobile rang as he walked down the hall. “Harkness.”

“Good morning.” Lacene Harpham sounded tired. “I have good news. Although Cory Lynch’s injuries were minimal, it’s being viewed as a attempted murder. Lynch has impressive friends. None of them will admit he’s more than their event planner, but his latest  client has been thrown under the bus. I’ve received enough anonymous information to charge a career member of parliament with everything from soliciting prostitutes to treason. One scanned blackmail file is thirty-years-old.” She laughed with homicidal glee. “Madeline Shadwick received similar treatment. Lynch maintains he has no contacts, but I suspect he did that to.”

“Is Cory safe?”

“Yeah. A very powerful society woman gave him a room in her family estate. Best guess is Lynch did party planning for her son before his recent marriage.” Lacene chuckled. “I don’t want to know. I have talked to three powerful men, the youngest in his fifties, all telling me Lynch planned parties for them while looking like they wanted to kill someone. I had to explain that anyone arrested for the attack had to be in protective custody.”

Jack knew Cory was connected, but didn’t know the extent. “What about my son?”

“That’s above my pay grade. But the media is sniffing around an investigation into four other MPs. One reporter is already asking questions about the motivate behind the Lynch attack. Others are talking about a corruption enquiry.” She took a moment. “I’ll bet there will be treason charges, but it won’t be publicized. Under national security.”

Jack nodded. “Be careful.” 

 

** (former Moss-Probert facility); Cardiff, Wales **

Owen Harper stepped into the car park behind the facility and eyed the old fashion medical bag he carried. No amount of lab work or computer simulations could answer the questions he needed to resolve. In the many years he worked for Torchwood, he’d never crossed the line. He swore an oath to do no harm. Testing a treatment derived from aliens based on research he didn’t understand was a moral dilemma that froze him in place. He reviewed the arguments repeatedly. The best he could manage was he had no other choice. Without testing on a human being, he had no way of knowing if it would work. The adults were the best option because they arguably caused the children’s exposure. But they couldn’t consent. He wouldn’t trust the judgment of anyone that would consent for them.

“Owen,” Dmitri said. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to administer it?”

Owen closed his eyes. It was the easy way out. It wouldn’t absolve him. Jack had insisted on treating John with Teleri’s antibodies. It technically kept him from violating his ethics. If it hadn’t worked, he’d still be guilty. “It’s on me. I tested it. I need to do it.”

“Rhys said the adults were reviewed. A few of them have deteriorated since the aliens were relocated.”

Owen exhaled loudly and looked at Dmitri. “The adult with the lowest quality of life.”

They walked into the building. From expressions, Owen expected the facility personnel knew what was about to happen. The darker side of the medication was it potentially removed genetic flaws. Not everyone had the same definition of flawed. The Refuge collected people with unusual abilities and genetic problems that made it difficult or impossible for them to remain in the general population. While the medication could save the children’s lives, it also threatened people’s right to be different.

Owen followed Dmitri up the stairs to the second floor. A small woman with an uncertain expression met them outside a door marked lab. Dmitri tensed.

“I’m Miriam Morgans.” She crossed her arms at looked at the floor briefly, possibly composing herself. “I was an unwilling test subject in this facility before I escaped and blew up the lab. There will be no human guinea pigs on my watch.” She met Owen’s gaze. “Have you done everything you can to test this treatment?”

“Yes. Lab tests, computer review, blood tests and already sick animals. We had one success under unrepeatable circumstances. There is nothing else I can do.”

Miriam stepped aside. “If it works, it’s only being used on the bioweapon victims.”

Under other circumstances, Owen knew he would have had choice words for Ms. Morgans. He couldn’t blame her. He’d previously seen research designed to “reset” the human body and cure illnesses. An alien infestation accomplished the seemingly impossible. The downside was it incubated an alien swarm that killed the host when it left the body.

“Yeah.”

After a moment, she stepped aside. “He was chosen because he has to be continually restrained.”

Owen nodded. He’d converted the pills to something he could inject, increasing his concern. The doubt hit again as he entered the lab. Dmitri followed and closed the door behind him. An unconscious man was restrained. An IV with impressive improvised biohazard containment had already been established. 

He set his medical bag on a counter and removed a hand-held scanner. The man tested positive for the bioweapon and his health in general was bad. Even knowing the man was partly responsible for the sick kids, he had to remind himself again why it was necessary.

With a pre-filled syringe, he walked over to the prepared IV set-up. He inserted it through the available slot. It automatically passed through an airlock. Owen hesitated before sliding his hands into the gloves of the box-like containment unit. It took a moment to get used to the feel of the stiff material. He then picked up the syringe and reached for the IV port.

He injected the modified pill and closed his eyes. His research, albeit short, suggested it wouldn’t take long. As the guilt set in, he removed his hands and returned the counter for his hand-held. The scan readings were promising. The full process would take hours. Owen handed Dmitri the hand-held and headed out for air.

 

** Torchwood Three **

Gwen Cooper spent most of the morning discussing Torchwood with law enforcement. The revelation that the head of Dublin’s office was Jack’s son answered a few questions that hadn’t been asked and generated a few more. The previous news report on Jack’s and the 456 and the effect it had on his loved ones went a long way to explain the secrecy. A mistake made more sense than time travel, so no one questioned the same name explanation.

After checking in with Rhys, she checked on her children and Michael. They were safely with Ianto. A publicized attack against Torchwood meant the school didn’t say much about more absences. She wondered if she needed to check in with Nessa about Teleri and Sarah.

Her mobile rang. “Cooper.” The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.

“Good afternoon,” the unknown woman said sarcastically. “John isn’t answering his phone.” It sounded like an accusation. 

“Who is this?” Gwen could only guess it had something to do with John’s unconventional network of connections.

“Sal. The woman you’ve been giving Connie shit about.”

“John is out of the country handling personal business.”

“Right.” Sal took a moment. “I’m going to text you addresses. The first one is Leith Evanson’s last known. That shit with the arseholes and the armored vehicle is probably connected. Add misogynists and racists with ugly religious, political and Neonazi connections. Do not go there alone.” Sal emphasized the last sentence.

Gwen rolled her eyes and kept the retort to herself. “Thanks.”

“Have John call when he gets back.” The call ended.

 

** Siocled Anhygoel Gifts **

Cowleys comments about the flowers made him think about Ianto. Jack Harkness rarely thought about buying gifts. One of the stores Ianto shopped for presents was on the way back to the hub. He found a spot in the car park near the door. The festive gift shop reminded him about the nursery for Michael. Ianto would probably appreciate a gift for the baby more than a box. Jack decided on both.

“Hey.” Jestina walked over wearing her pirate costume from the restaurant and carrying a Valentine’s Day themed teddy bear. He wasn’t the only one buying gifts.

Jack smiled. “Thanks for talking to Ianto.”

“Not a problem.” She shook her head. “I should have seen he was conflicted.”

“He’s good at hiding it.”

She held out her hands. “A well-dressed, sweet guy that helps with his co-workers kids is impossible to resist. And unlikely to be single.”

Jack laughed. “You’ll find someone.” 

“Without a boyfriend would be nice.”

His mobile rang. “Sorry, I need to take this.”

“Hey.” Gwen explained what Sal told her. “Ianto’s checking the addresses.”

“Contact the general. We need to plan for another paramilitary group.”


	20. Chapter 20

** Trahyam Bach Historical Society; Cardiff, Wales **

As staging areas went, the historical society was inviting. Jack Harkness claimed the head of the conference room table. Gwen arrived with surveillance and scanning equipment. She quickly set-up a video conference with Toshiko at the hub, Eryn in Nova Scotia, and Nessa at Four. The general joined them a few minutes later.

“You brought company,” Jack commented.

Azrael materialized in the doorway. 

Gwen reached for her gun.

“Shooting me could cause a quantum disruption, Ms. Cooper.”

The general held out his hand. “He responded to my SOS from the Rossister’s facility, mum. He took out the biomechs and cleaned up the scene.”

“What is this place?” Azrael asked after a moment.

“A civilian version of Nigeria. There is artifact storage in the basement.”

“That is a bad idea. Idrissa needs to transfer it.”

“No.” Teri Pierce said from behind Azrael.

His image shifted aside. “Your containment is bleeding quantum energy.”

She eyed him. “What are you?”

“Quantum energy.”

“Teri,” Jack injected, “We are not the Torchwood behind the corporations use of alien technology. Azrael destroyed the facility in Denmark and dealt with the one in Dublin.”

“Our storage has held for decades.”

“Another discussion. Right now, Luc is mapping the area and getting scans. Once we have information, we can plan our attack.”

“That location started disrupting sensors yesterday. I contacted Torchwood Two for an assessment.” Teri crossed the room and handed Jack a tablet. “Just came back. It will take out your drones and types of quantum energy. That’s why containment is bleeding.”

“Captain Harkness, is it possible to reactive the device in the Red Dragon Centre car park? It disrupts quantum entanglement,” Eryn asked.

“That would be a bad idea,” Nessa replied. 

“Jack,” Toshiko injected quietly, “Quantum is a size not a type. Can the person who said he’s quantum energy explain what he means?”

“I do not have an explanation.”

Jack held out his hands. “He’s technically an inter-dimensional being. He was converted by imploding quantum entanglement powered terraforming devices.”

Toshiko rubbed her forehead. “No one jury-rigged a defense against that overnight.”

“Moss-Probert originally used the first device to redirect the Cardiff Rift. They could be attempting to seize control of it.” Azrael met Gwen’s eyes. “She needs to be prepared for an attack.”

Gwen quickly found her mobile and left the room.

“Does someone have control of the Rift?” Toshiko asked.

“That’s complicated.” Jack looked met Azrael’s eyes. 

He sighed. “I will babysit.” He disappeared.

Jack reached for his mobile. “We need Miriam here.”

 

** (former Moss-Probert facility) **

Dmitri Petrescu reviewed scan readings. The injection had a widespread affect on the patient’s condition. He wasn’t sure what half of it meant, but basic pulse and respiratory indicated recovery. Owen explained the promising research in the car on the drive over. He needed to convince himself that he’d done everything possible to assess the treatment. It appeared successful.

Watching Owen work, Dmitri knew he’d never be an adequate doctor. Maybe he could learn enough for general practice, but Torchwood medicine was over his head. He would transfer to London after it’s reconstruction, and find a way to be useful. 

Miriam opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Do you have a portal device?”

“Yeah. I have two. Why?”

She explained the situation at the historical society.

Dmitri set the hand-held aside. He could potentially help there. “I’ll go with you.”

 

** Torchwood Three **

Reluctantly, Anwen Williams agreed to another game of Checkers. Trefor had already won two games of Checkers, a Chess match, and Backgammon. She loved her brother, but she had limits. 

Her mobile rang as he claimed his second king. “Hi, mum.” She listened. “I’ll lock it down. Can we expect an attack?”

“I don’t know. Be careful.”

“Always.” Anwen tried to sound amused. 

“I love you. Tell your brother for me.”

“We love you.” The call ended.

Anwen hugged her brother. “From mum.” Then she stood and activated the intercom. “Dr. Nelson, Ken, I need to lock-down the hub. Do you want to relocate?”

“No.” Dr. Nelson replied.

Anwen disconnected the intercom. “Computer, command authorization Anwen Williams. Lock-down hub. Activate Hart siege protocol 1.”

“Activated.”

“Trefor, stay with Uncle Ianto. I’m going to prep the bots.”

Anwen wondered as the office door closed behind her when it became normal. Somewhere between destroying alien ships with the Rift and surviving impossible odds, it wasn’t strange anymore. They learned in school there were times throughout history where children had no choice but to fight. They’d taken up weapons to defend themselves when there was no one left to protect them. Child-soldiers fought wars they had no business fighting. She suspected she was the only kid ever conscripted by her future self to save the world. 

The John Connor of Torchwood! Even Connor needed Kyle Reese to protect him as a child. John Hart, where are you?

 

** Trahyam Bach Historical Society **

Dmitri Petrescu entered the conference room questioning the decision to join the team. Unless the situation involved alchemy there wasn’t much he could do. 

“We have a possible Southeast Asia island situation.” Jack handed Miriam a tablet. 

Miriam swore. Then quickly read through the information. “Yes and no. It’s the same type of power source, but a completely different configuration.” She exhaled. “They don’t need to redirect the Rift unless…” She shook her head. “There is a warehouse on Cardiff Docks. The universe has been breached there twice.”

“Three times,” Gwen corrected. The second fulgurite situation seriously injured her. “What does redirecting the Rift in Cardiff accomplish?”

“The original location would have detonated the atmosphere,” Jack said.

Gwen looked at Jack. “It’s an attack on Global.”

“We can’t blow it up.” Miriam handed the tablet back to Jack. “We need to absorb the energy.”

“I have an idea.” Dmitri spent so much time trying to understand the area’s alchemy it immediately came to mind. “The Tablet of Kings. It’s about gaining power. But any alchemy device is based on the intention of the person who creates it.”

“No!” Teri crossed her arms.

Dmitri turned to look at her. “We can’t blow it up. We can’t let them blow up Global.”

“You have no idea what you’re saying.”

Dmitri pushed up his sleeve showing the device Mercia Tew created that bonded to him. It killed an assassin targeting Jack. It saved Anwen and fused Nanogenes in John’s system and turned him into a Nanogene station for her. When Dmitri had time to think about it, he realized his intent that day was to protect Anwen and he’d further bonded John without intending to.

“I understand it better than you do, Ms. Pierce.”

Teri backed out the door. “You’re insane.”

“I was transported seventy years into the future through a Rift in another universe. Torchwood didn’t have an agent in this time that understood alchemy. I do.” Dmitri turned back to Jack. “Do we have another option?”

“Toshiko.” Jack looked at her image over the video conference. “You need to review information on the Southeast Asian terraformed island explosions, Cardiff Docks fulgurite, Atmore energy, and the destruction of the Calais freighter. Ianto will help you.”

“I may not be ready.” 

“Do what you can, Tosh.” 

Jack looked up from the screen. “Miriam, coordinate with the Refuge. Your people had the most experience with reviewing the island situation.”

She nodded and headed out.

“Gwen, call Connie Ryan and tell her we need more information. If she won’t cooperate, call Lacene.” Jack paused. “Call Lacene either way and ask if Icelus has any ideas.”

Jack looked back at the screen as Gwen held up her mobile and stepped out of the room. “Nessa, call your Aunt Colina.”

“I will,” Nessa replied. “Don’t expect miracles. Doves are healers. We don’t disarm WMD.”

“Captain Harkness,” Eryn said, “I don’t know if this affects the current situation. We’ve been reviewing events of the past year-and-a-half. There is something much older than Torchwood happening. We need records from Torchwood facilities in Guyana, South America and South Africa. We’re trying to figure out why someone in Brazil wants Aman dead.” 


	21. Chapter 21

** (former Moss-Probert facility); Cardiff, Wales **

Owen Harper returned to the lab, after security mentioned Dmitri left. The scan results were impressive. A DNA comparison confirmed his theory that the retrovirus affected alleles. The question was how and why it selected the genes it changed. From the extensive psychological damage, he doubted a full recovery was possible. But it meant there was hope for the children. He needed to treat more of the adults before he had a solid idea.

The door opened and a little girl entering staying by the door. “Mama wants to know why you changed him back.”

“I’m testing a treatment to make everyone better.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Mama doesn’t understand.”

Owen wondered if the child was mentally affected by the retrovirus or if she was a drone. He quickly scanned her. With the hub in lock-down, he couldn’t do a comparison scan, but the girl appeared affected by the hive mind. Which would only be possible if they hadn’t located all of the aliens.

“The retrovirus that created the hive mind makes humans sick. If the treatment works on the adults, it will safe the sick kids.”

“Mama says we’re not sick.”

“The retrovirus nearly killed Anwen. It’s not safe for humans.”

“Mama is taking care of us.”

Owen nodded. “The secretion affects humans differently.”

The little girl tilted her head. “Mama will make us better.”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Liam Doughtery looked up from the information Aman gave him. He’d seen strange things since meeting Nessa. The Dove family had unexplained abilities. Jeannette could throw fireballs when exposed to CN. Reading the information about Aman’s family was unexpected, but explained a lot about Aman.

“I have a question.” The type Liam didn’t want to ask.

Aman and Matt looked up from opposite sides of the work room table. 

“You’ve focused on your father.” Liam hesitated. “Where’s the information on your mother?”

“Why?”

Liam looked down at the table for a moment. “Your father likes power. If he knew about a Torchwood legacy in South America or South Africa, he would have exploited it. The simplest explanation for relocating your father was Beaupre wanted your family on another continent.” He couldn’t help but think of his own motivation for leaving home. “The incentive had to be worth your father leaving everything he knew.”

“I barely remember my mother.”

Liam felt like an arse. “How did your parents meet?”

“I don’t know. My father won’t talk about my mother.”

That really made Liam wonder. “He didn’t remarry?”

From Aman’s expression, he’d never thought about it. “He always kept women. Never for more than a few months. Never from South American.” He shook his head. “My father never got over losing my mother.”

“Are you sure she’s dead?”

Aman thought for a moment. “No.”

“That makes a difference.” Matt shifted in his chair. “There are a lot of legends about the Amazonian rain forest.” He tapped his screen. “There is one about a dark legacy involving a woman not a man.” He paged through information. “ La Lupuna, or sorcerer tree, is said to provide magic, but will retaliate if offended. A woman is said to have sacrificed a La Tanrrilla, or a bird, for a love spell. Rather then perform it on a man, she targeted a tree. With the La Lupuna’s love, she harnessed its magic and became very powerful, but tainted her entire family line.”

“When did you look this up?” Aman asked.

“After the biomech attack on Luc and Eryn, I started looking through past cases. Brazil isn’t a country associated with terrorists. Your wedding was disrupted by Portuguese-speaking gunmen talking about a dark legacy. It was bad enough that your father and Jack declared a truce.”

“I overheard Nessa talking about a large oak tree that grew overnight.” Liam than remembered the rest of it. “Ianto has a family connection to an ancient. It has something to do with trees.”

 

Eryn Sylla wondered about the information she received. With the exception of the Miracle Day article, and MIB reports in the US, she knew nothing about the Torchwood agent in the CIA. While Jack claimed he was a contact, he was welcomed into the Cardiff hub. The article talked about a CIA agent that defied his country to do the right thing. His interest in Brazil suggested he might have found something.

She entered the work room carrying a tablet and a notebook. “Did I interrupt?”

“No.” Aman was uneasy and trying to hide it.

“Rex Masterson is the CIA agent connected to Torchwood?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Trefor doesn’t trust him.”

Eryn handed Aman her notes. “A South American contact came through. Before the Calais freighter explosion, and Rex arriving in Cardiff, he was captured and tortured by a drug producer. Idrissa suspects the producer had access to CN or a variation. A group of female vigilantes somehow connected to the Kearas destroyed the facility and killed everything that moved. They’re using Ronald Beaupre’s name.”

“Do we know the location of the destroyed facility?” Aman asked.

“Yeah.”

“We need to get a drone in the air.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Anwen Williams sat in the maintenance bot workshop with her back to the wall and he knees pulled to her chest. She tugged her necklace from her beneath her shirt and eyed the rings. The one John once tried to give her older self said “Peace.” The second one belonged to Other Keara and said “Timeless Love.” Tears welled in her eyes. She failed John horribly. She couldn’t help but wonder if she somehow made the same irrational demands, in a different future, from the crazy woman manipulating time.

She slipped John’s over sized ring on her finger and set her hand on her knee letting the other one dangle. “Come back to me.” Tears rolled off her cheeks. 

Mama says he’ll come back.

Anwen looked around the room. “Who’s there?”

Shay , the little girl voice said.  You braided my hair by the stables.

In the hive mind, Anwen thought. “Yeah. Am I still connected?”

Yep. Mama said you didn’t need to be here anymore. You were safe.

Anwen dried her face on her sleeve. “I thought the aliens were transported off planet.”

Not all of them. Mama is still here.

“Shay, does Mama know where she is?”

No.

“Is she indoors or outdoors?”

Inside.

Anwen stood. “Mama can join her family in a safe place, but we need to know how to find her.”

Mama doesn’t know.

“It’s okay.” You’re speaking to a little girl, Anwen reminded herself hoping Shay couldn’t hear her. “How did Mama get there?”

Boat.

“Did it move over the water or under?”

Over.

Anwen headed for the door. “Does Mama know where she was before the boat?”

Scary woman says Liverpool.

“What scary woman?”

The voice in her head changed. Katrine Palfreyman .

Great, telepathic conference calls with psychos. “Ma’am, I need specifics. Who, what, where and how?”

She went to Ianto’s office. He looked up and she placed a finger to her lips and shook her head slightly. Trefor slid off the desk onto Ianto’s lap while staring at her. She grabbed one of his notebooks across the desk, flipped to a new page and selected a pen. 

“Hive mind,” she wrote quickly. “Ma’am, do you know the names or locations of other facilities?”

No.

“Names of other people involved?”

She said them to fast.

“Hold on. I need to write them down.” Anwen wrote eighteen names. “Are any of these people connected to UNIT, Whitehall or Torchwood?”

Madeline Shadwick.

Anwen underlined the name. “Ma’am, do you know what you did in Cardiff?”

The woman hesitated,  Yes .

“Who else was involved?”

Deidre Austin .

Anwen wrote it down and underlined the last name. “How do we find her?”

 

Ianto Jones read Anwen’s notes upside-down and wondered who she was talking to. She set the pen down, pushed the notebook across the desk, and then tapped her head. 

“I’m going to sit in the garden for awhile.” She blew Trefor a kiss and walked out of the room.

“Anwen’s scared,” Trefor said after the door closed behind her.

Ianto tapped his ear com. “Jack.”

“Everything all right?”

“No.” Ianto explained what he knew about the hive mind.

“Keep an eye on her.”


	22. Chapter 22

** Trahyam Bach Historical Society; Cardiff, Wales **

Jack Harkness stared at the table briefly. The situation with Anwen was unexpected and complicated. It also suggested they misunderstood the hive mind. When Four tracked the aliens it either didn’t realize there were at least two locations or the remaining female redirected attention to the group. 

The timing was problematic. He quickly dialed Owen. 

“Busy.” 

“Is there evidence the hive mind still exists?”

“Yeah,” Owen said. “Mama didn’t realize the secretion made the kids sick. She tried to fix the damage, and realized out she couldn’t. I don’t have time to talk. I’m dealing with a freaked out alien mentally tethered to a building full of people.”

“If she couldn’t fix it, how is Katrine Palfreyman functional?”

“Shay, Mama’s drone, demanded I heal Palfreyman.” Owen exhaled loudly. “Treatment doesn’t remove the hive mind connection nor Mama’s ability to create drones.”

“Are the adults contained?”

“If you consider striping naked and running down the hall contained.” Owen groaned. “I have to go.” The call ended.

The general looked up from the other end of the table. “What happened?”

“The female alien connected to the kids just found out she made the kids sick.” Jack explained.

“Can the alien use Anwen as a drone?”

Jack had a bad feeling. “Werner Heartfield was killed presumably by a drone using Anwen and John’s telekinesis.”

“I’ll contact Keara upstairs. She can coordinate with Oldaria and Robert. After transporting the colony, they might know how to look for alien enclosures.”

 

Dmitri Petrescu walked through basement storage. He had to admit concealment was impressive. His experience with alchemy resulted in a focus on dangerous devices. When he knew what he was looking for, it was a lot easier to find. Which made him wonder briefly if that was the issue with Laren McDougall’s house. 

“Don’t do it,” Teri repeated.

Dmitri sighed. “Do you have a better idea?”

“A Tablet of Kings is nightmare construct that can’t be controlled.”

Dmitri stopped and looked at her. “Did you see the destruction of the freighter docked at Calais? That’s what kind of power can be channeled through that Cardiff Docks location. What you don’t know is what that type of device can do.”

She crossed her arms. “Do you know what the Tablet does?”

“Yeah.” Dmitri suspected he might be committing suicide. “If we don’t stop that device, the damage is…” He shook his head.

“We don’t know what they’re doing.”

“The last one of these devices that detonated leveled an island.”

 

Gwen Cooper accepted the task of tracking Deidre Austin. They’d checked every Deidre they could find in the area. It was suggested more than once that Deidre’s connection to Sal could be military. They question Gwen had was Deidre’s connection to Leith Evanson. 

Another thought occurred to Gwen. If Deidre was connected to Sal than working with Leith could have been a means to an end. The best guess on Leith is he wanted money or power. Either a bored rich kid or an unhappy stepson getting back at his stepfather. Unless it was something more complicated.

Gwen returned to the conference room. “I have an insane idea.”

Jack and the general looked up from opposite ends of the table. 

“Everything that happened in Cardiff is irrational. The drugs, the bioweapon, the cult. Beddoe’s death, the paramilitary attacks, and now another quantum entanglement device setting off alarms at a hidden storage facility.” She took a moment. “We’re all focused on Cardiff. When Anwen was poisoned, it made us more determined to find the alien and save the kids. With a facility full of exposed children, we have tunnel vision.”

“Azrael found the Antwerp charity,” the general said. “That couldn’t be anticipated.”

Gwen nodded. “The government officials trying to stop Torchwood from being rebuilt had no idea you existed or that a teenage drug dealer was on Torchwood radar. Malcolm’s knowledge of medicine, Liam’s sudden relocation to Nova Scotia, and Atmore people joining the research would have been unpredictable.”

“What type of distraction?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know. The Greenland facility called for alien back-up. Esbjerg was creating biomechs witnesses described as Terminators. The Caribbean facility had an army.” She shook her head. “Why? If this is Torchwood and not another future Aman or crazy Keara, what are they expecting to happen?” 

The general turned and looked at Jack. “Toshiko Sato. Someone abducted an impressive scientist from another universe. We assumed it had to do with Robert’s ship. If they have third gen biomechs and aliens on speed dial, they don’t need his ship.”

“Are we sure what this device is doing? Could anyone anticipate Dmitri’s actions?”

Jack nodded. “The gunmen at Aman and Kailen’s wedding and the prophecy was some type of con. I spoke to Other Keara in Denmark. She thinks the situation is hopeless. She didn’t cause it.”

“What are we missing?” Gwen rubbed her face. 

 

** Torchwood Three **

Toshiko Sato found a device that allowed her to read at an inhuman speed. Jack once took it away from her for using it outside of the hub. She needed it for the amount of reading necessary. What stood out immediately was the idea that the Rift could be redirected. Possibly through a universe breach, but that would be suicidal. Detonating the atmosphere was likely the least of the damage.

What were they trying to do?

The information on Atmore and the terraformed island equally made no sense. Atmore energy affected females and potentially caused reptiles to essentially clone themselves in a process seen naturally in lizards and sharks. Except none of the animals at either location appeared to be affected. 

The alchemy elevator that brought Tiarni Atmore to Cardiff created the same type of energy and appeared to affect the pterodactyl that lived in the hub. The energy was redirected at a freighter and into space. It somehow summoned the space station.

Tosh checked something she’d previously noticed. The first device exploded and disrupted the universe causing breaches. The result was Torchwood Four. The second device detonated and seemingly repaired the damage. There were multiple notes about Torchwood facilities that might not exist sending emergency notifications, including the Nautilus. 

She quickly called Jack back.

“Did you find anything?”

“Was there any type of explosion prior to the hub returning?”

Jack had to think about it. The day Ianto returned was clear in his mind. “Miriam Morgans blew up a section of the Moss-Probert research facility.”

Tosh explained the connection she suspected.

“Cattrel Industries was blown up before Atmore activated,” Gwen said.

“How could they be connected?” Jack asked.

“Quantum entanglement is complicated. Seemingly unrelated particles can be connected over a great distance. The situation with the destruction of Torchwood Three and the reappearance of Torchwood Four suggests that two points in different times could be entangled.”

“We’re considering the possibility that everything happening in Cardiff is some type of distraction.”

An alarm sounded.

 

** Trahyam Bach Historical Society **

Dmitri Petrescu hurried upstairs. The text message said urgent. Expressions were grim as he entered the conference room. It didn’t take much to guess he’d run out of time.

“There is energy building in the warehouse on Cardiff Docks.”

Dmitri hesitated. “I need sand. Luc has the transport drones. Pick a desert. I don’t have time to get traditional materials.”

“Sand?” The general asked.

“Fulgurite,” Gwen commented.

Dmitri absently rubbed the device on his wrist. “Yes.” 


	23. Chapter 23

** Cardiff Dock; Cardiff, Wales **

Dmitri Petrescu portaled into the area and walked to the warehouse. He could feel the energy. The idea of creating an alchemy monstrosity even to counter a worse evil made his heart race. He took a deep breath. Months of research and he knew everything he could about Tablets of Kings. With any type of alchemy, it came down to his intentions.

As the drones deposited sand in the warehouse, he focused on the modified approach. He’d use the energy to create fulgurite and form the lattice. In theory, the Tablet would absorb the remaining energy.

Unable to wait any longer, Dmitri approached the open doors. The device on his wrist indicated. Similar to healing Anwen, and fusing John with Nanogenes, he channeled his intentions. The sand lifted into the air and the fulgurite formed in a multiple layer lattice. 

The device activated and absorbed the increasing energy. It seemed endless. When it reached it’s limit, Dmitri knew he had little time to improvise. The Calais freighter explosion was caused by redirected energy. He could try for space, but he had no idea where either space station was located. Then he remembered what Jack said about the original devices. They imploded. The first one was contained. The second leveled the island.

Dmitri tapped his ear com. “Jack.”

“Yeah.” The energy interfered with the connection making it hard to understand.

“Luc needs to establish a ballistic shield around the warehouse to contain an implosion.”

“That could destroy Cardiff.”

“Not if it’s controlled, Jack.”

“Give me a few minutes.”

Dmitri couldn’t help but remember the conversation he’d had with Connie Ryan at the Harries’ home. He’d resigned himself to the inevitable a long time ago. Sooner or later, his luck would run out. At least it would be quick.

“Luc is saying you need to move.”

“No. Seal me in.”

Jack hesitated. “I’m sorry.”

Dmitri felt the ballistic shield forming. “Don’t tell Telyn I died.” He tapped his ear com off.

Then he closed his eyes, focused again on the Tablet and reached for the energy. It flowed into him. Energy danced over him reminding him of a Tesla coil he’d seen while investigating an inventor with Jack. That had been his world. There was nothing more he could offer this century.

Alexai , Icelus’s voice echoed through his head,  Picture home .

A ridiculous flat he shared with Jack briefly in London came to mind. Small and crowded, they sat at an unstable table and planned assignments, cons and told outrageous lies. Dmitri smiled as a vortex swirled around him moments before the warehouse imploded. 

 

** Trahyam Bach Historical Society **

Jack Harkness wiped tears from his eyes. No one spoke as they waited for the inevitable. Both he and Azrael survived one of the devices imploding. He hoped Dmitri survived, but Jack had no idea how it was possible. 

“The warehouse is gone,” Eryn said quietly over the phone. “No debris. No fulgurite or sand. No body.” She cried softly.

Jack nodded. Neither his own or Aman’s return had been quick or simple. They would have to wait and watch. “What about the Gentleman’s Club?”

“The energy is gone,” Aman replied. “Get them.” 

“We will.” Jack ended the call.

The general stood. “We need to end this.”

 

** Pontcanna Gentleman’s Club **

Jack Harkness entered the front door with his Webly drawn and Dmitri’s last words haunting him. He felt Azrael’s arrival moments later. Soldier Keara arrived in a pillar of white light as they entered the reception area. Jack hadn’t been inside the club in years. The decor appeared recreated a club from the 1960s or 1970s.

The nearest room was a dining area. Nothing moved as he checked the dim lit room. It smelled vaguely of cigar smoke and sweat. Doors at the back had a burlesque sign on a stand. He carefully opened the double doors. Generously spaced tables occupied the center of the room between the bar to his right and the stage on the far wall.

Gunfire from Gwen’s semi-auto broke the silence, and Azrael disappeared. Keara’s stun weapon sizzled on impact as a man moved to his left. The odd popping sound of the general’s Rift ability detonating bullets joined the cacophony. 

A lone woman wearing a retro stripper’s costume huddled behind the bar. Even in the dim light, Jack could see faint bruises on her face. He stepped back and motioned to Keara. The woman hugged her knees and shook.

“I’ll wait with her.  The Prophet is better with terrified women then I am.” She found future Aman’s previous nickname ridiculous, but it was better than the current one. Mentioning the angel of death to a terrified woman in a Catholic country was a bad idea.

The noise faded as they cleared the building. Twenty minutes Gwen’s voice came over the ear com. “Gargamel’s cat and I have Leith Evanson and two thugs secured in the basement. One has an HH tattoo that’s impossible to miss on his neck. That potentially connects him to the attack on Sal’s bar and later The Light and The Way.”

Jack hoped they had answers as he headed down the stairs. With John off-world, and Dmitri probably dead, Jack wasn’t feeling charitable. The three men committed most crimes on the books and all of the seven deadly sins.

When he sensed Azrael, he remembered the woman upstairs. “Keara is waiting with a probable civilian upstairs.”

Azrael made an unhappy noise that seem to come from nowhere in particular and disappeared.

“Should I go?” Gwen asked.

“No. She needs a guardian angel.” Jack smiled at the absurdity. They needed the humor.

Gwen shook her head.

Leith Evanson eyed Jack with contempt as he approached the table. The complete lack of empathy reminded him of a previous situation years earlier that was impossible to understand. A group of cannibals north of Cardiff preyed on people passing through. Unable to process the horror, Gwen insisted on talking to one of the group. For whatever reason the small community abducted and ate people every ten years. Experimenting on children was equally depraved.

Jack sat across from him. “What was the quantum entanglement device suppose to do?” 

“Allow an alien ship to enter through a rift.” Evanson seemed unaffected.

Jack tapped his ear com as Soldier Keara crossed the room. “Any Rift activity?”

“No,” Anwen replied.

“Tosh, Ianto, coordinate with Luc. We need to know what that explosion caused.” 

Jack’s mobile rang. Caller ID said Luc. “Harkness.” He switched to speaker phone.

“Alien ships appeared between Tasmania and New Zealand where the Arctic Wind disappeared. Aman is instructing Namir to re-establish the Atmore bubble.”

“I will intercept.” Keara looked at the general. “Join me?”

“Yeah.”

They both disappeared in a pillar of white.

“What do the aliens want?”

Evanson shook his head. “An inter-dimensional storage space. The technology and its owner are worth a lot.”

Gwen met Jack’s eyes. “Oldaria.”

Jack nodded. “Her ship must be accessible through Antarctica.”

 

** Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria **

From the office desk, Idrissa Oliveira reviewed the alarm details. He wasn’t sure how bad the situation was, but they were receiving invasion warnings. Atmore sent an automated distress signal.

Tiarni Atmore rushed into the office looking pale. “Does the Namir know how Atmore works?”

“I do not know.”

“Can you connect me?”

Idrissa checked communications. “No. The Atmore bubble is up.”

“The Keara time traveler said the monkey was an Atmore intrusion?” 

“Yes.”

Tiarni nodded. “I have to go home.”

“Be careful.”

She ran from the office toward the garden.


	24. Chapter 24

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

** Tuesday, February 8, 2021 **

Ianto Jones rested his hand on one arms with his other lightly over Jack’s hand. Insanity didn’t begin to cover the hours following Dmitri’s death. The alien ships fled the planet when Soldier Keara and the general arrived above Antarctica. Information from Leith in exchange for Jack not beating him to death led Gwen, Azrael and Cardiff PD on half a dozen raids. Connie Ryan was shot during a raid. While she was in surgery, bodies started piling up. Dr. Floyd returned to the medical examiner’s office, with Refuge security, to assist.

The conference room phone rang. “Whitehall.” Jack answered it on speaker. “Morning.”

Ianto checked his mobile. 3 AM was technically morning.

“Captain Harkness.” Prime Minister Hazel Bransom sounded exhausted. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“We’re still piecing it together. We have Leith Evanson and are coordinating with the local police department to target his network. He was behind the bioweapon and experimentation in Cardiff. From police reports, his information has led to everything from illegal prescription drugs to human-trafficking. PD will coordinate with other law enforcement when the urgency is resolved.”

“Good.” She hesitated. “I’ve received disturbing information on your operation since we spoke last.”

Ianto sat up.

“Your son runs Torchwood in Dublin. You’re at odds with the father of a Torchwood Canada agent because of an inappropriate sexual relationship. A young man in London, a police officer, and the medical examiner were injured as a result of their relationship with you. You’re reportedly involved with your entire office staff.”

“No.” Jack wondered where she got that information. “My son runs Torchwood Four because he’s the most qualified. The situation with the agent in Nova Scotia involved his father wanting him to return to his home country and later an objection to him getting married. Cory is simply a friend.” He took a moment. “There are a lot of rumors. Friends in local law enforcement create and circulate them.”

“You live with your office manager,” she countered.

“Yes. We’re in a committed relationship.”

“I’m looking at a psychological evaluation based on observation. Your boyfriend shows signs of Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD. His original Torchwood file indicates he was in a serious relationship with a co-worker, a woman, and showed no indication of being gay.”

Ianto looked at Jack a moment. “Ma’am, this is Ianto Jones. I have PTSD as a result of near-fatal Torchwood situations. I am one of the few survivors of the attack on the Torchwood Institute. Until my sister found out about Jack my family didn’t know I was attracted to men.”

“According to a statement from a former co-worker, you were engaged to a woman when you worked at the Institute.”

“Lisa and I weren’t engaged. We would have been but was she killed.” Ianto closed his eyes as the memories filled his mind.

Jack took his hand, twinging their fingers together.

“According to your records, Mr. Jones, you don’t have family. You grew up in care.”

“It’s necessary to protect my family.”

“From what?”

Ianto squeezed Jack’s hand. “The 456 situation resulted in the hub being destroyed and my sister and her family being endangered by trying to help protect their neighborhood children. When I returned to Cardiff, from protective custody,” he said using the cover story the article provided, “I didn’t want to risk my family. Working for Torchwood is dangerous. It’s a decision I made.”

It sounded like a conversation in the background. “What are your duties at Torchwood?”

“It varies. I maintain the office, order supplies, water the plants, and offer research and other assistance as needed.”

“How did you get the job?”

Ianto smiled and focused on keeping the humor from his voice. “Determination. Jack wasn’t convinced I was qualified until I helped him capture a pterodactyl that escaped when the Institute burned.”

She hesitated probably trying to process the dinosaur part of his answer. “How did the relationship begin?”

Ianto wondered what part of that he was willing to admit to. “After a bad situation,” involving an alien slaver and bad judgment as a result of being suicidal after Lisa died, “I kissed him. Jack hadn’t realized I was interested in men either.” Jack didn’t asked him on a date until later.

“Regardless, the situation brings your judgment into question, Captain Harkness.” Bransom paused. “After recent events, rebuilding the Torchwood Institute has been approved. You won’t be running it.”

Ianto set his forehead on his and Jack’s twined hands. 

“Ma’am, there is no one else qualified to run Torchwood.”

“Rex Masterson was recommended by the European Union and the United States.”

Jack took a moment. “Rex has minimal Torchwood experience.”

“His credentials are impeccable.”

Ianto kept from groaning. 

“Has Rex been notified of this decision?”

“Yes. He will be arriving in Cardiff shortly.”

 

Kylia (Jones) Harkness felt nauseous from transition. She leaned on the wall and chided herself. It wasn’t the first time she’d moved between universes. Although the last time had been different. 

“Hello?” A confused female voice said. 

Kylia looked up to see an Asian woman approaching. She looked familiar. It took longer than she’d like to admit to place the older woman. Toshiko Sato was the first choice for the Antarctica situation in her universe but died shutting down a Japanese nuclear plant years earlier.

“I need to speak with Uncle Jack.” Kylia lost her balance and barely managed to lower herself to the floor.

“You’re related to Jack?” Sato sounded confused.

“No, ma’am. I married his grandson.” A thought occurred to Kylia as she struggled to focus. “Computer activate intercom.” It clicked. “Grandpa, it’s Kylia. There is a problem in Antarctica. Dr. Sato needs to keep inter-dimensional storage from being breached.”

 

Jack Harkness met Rex at the garage entrance. Rex wore a dark suit. The clothes were either his Sunday best or he was impersonating FBI. That made more sense than Whitehall accepting a CIA agent to lead Torchwood London. The situation was absurd. 

“How?” Jack managed after the door closed behind them.

Rex shook his head. “I have no idea.”

Jack started walking toward the elevator. “We’re trying to resolve a situation connected to the destruction of the freighter docked near Calais when you were here last.”

“The ‘solar flare’ was mentioned.” Rex took a moment. “I got the impression the prime minister’s national security adviser wants a conflict between us.”

“Yeah. The conversation leading up to the announcement you would lead Torchwood London was insulting.”

Rex hesitated. “Did the prime minister accuse you of psychologically conditioning Ianto?”

“Yeah.” Jack wondered where they got the information on Ianto’s state-of-mind. 

“I was instructed to investigate whether you were sexually manipulating or abusing your staff.”

Jack vaguely remembered Bree mentioning sexual rumors. He needed to ask what she knew. “Did it include a list of Torchwood employees?”

Rex smiled. “And the location of facilities world-wide.”

Jack lead into the elevator. “Torchwood London wasn’t approved. Whitehall is trying to shut us down.”

“I was asked what I thought of you.”

Jack smiled. “What do you say?”

“You’re an immature, self-involved asshole.”

Jack laughed as the elevator door opened. “They didn’t ask the right questions.”

“No.” Rex waited until they’d entered the large, rolling door. “Some of the questions made me think of South America. The time I went missing. The national security adviser didn’t say it directly, but he implied you were responsible for Vera and Ester’s deaths.”

“Bad intel?” Jack headed for stairs to his office.

“I blamed you at first. Accepting the immortality and everything took time.” Rex followed.

The intercom clicked as Jack lead through the sliding doors into his office. “Grandpa, it’s Kylia. There is a problem in Antarctica. Dr. Sato needs to keep an inter-dimensional garage from being breached.”

Rex looked at Jack and asked quietly, “How many kids do you?”

Jack crossed the office toward the back stairs. “She’s Ianto’s granddaughter from another universe.”

“Is anything normal around you WWII?”


	25. Chapter 25

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Soldier Keara woke to an alarm. “Computer, end alarm.” She quickly read the details the computer automatically transfered to a hand-held on her bedside table. Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed. She knew John Hart was trouble from the moment she met him. Gorgeous, exciting trouble. Given what another version of herself had done, and would do, she couldn’t judge. Exasperation was different. She quickly dressed and grabbed her headset. It was going to be a long day.

John docked Robert’s Chula warship with Global. Keara waited in the berth for the port to open. The first person out wasn’t John. She’d seen it in her mind’s eye, but a part of her hoped she was wrong. Seeing him gave exasperation a whole new meaning.

“One Jack is bad enough, John.” 

“You said I’d find what I need, Kear.”

The gorgeous man grinned. “I’m not Jack.” 

You just look and sound like Jack with similar memories prior to Torchwood. “Bad news, you are.”

Despite her annoyance, John looked happy. The blue light remained in his eyes. But the anger and haunted stare was gone. That was worth dealing with the legendary con man.

“Kylia returned with information from her universe.” Keara explained what she knew. “Robert thought Oldaria was afraid of something.” She looked at not-Jack. “Any ideas?”

“Unfortunately.”

“We’ll need details. I have to call Three.” Keara exhaled loudly. “John, take your friend to the mess hall.”

“What happened?”

“Whitehall sent Rex Masterson to Three to assume command of Torchwood.”

John stared at her for a moment. “What?” 

Keara explained.

John strode over and gave her a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder. It had been a long time. Finding lovers that understood broken wasn’t easy. She never expected him to forgive her. Even though she hadn’t intended to fake her own death, it happened and left him devastated. He overdosed and nearly died as a result.

“Can I join?” Not-Jack’s amusement had an edge.

She suspected it was for show. “No.”

 

** Torchwood Three **

Jack Harkness stepped from the infirmary. Kylia probably didn’t remember the last time she arrived. She’d been sedated or medicated for the last trip between universes. John reacted badly to the process, although he’d been drunk and stoned at the time.

“Explain this,” Rex said.

Jack took a moment. “The short answer is she’s a Torchwood Institute archivist from a future where the Institute didn’t burn. She brought information that could explain the alien ships over Antarctica.”

Rather than respond, Rex stared passed Jack.

Jack sensed him a moment later and turned. “Azrael.” 

“You cannot trust Masterson.”

Jack knew the general had an issue with Rex, but hadn’t thought of the other time travelers. “Tell me why.”

Azrael made an unhappy sound. “It is not something you should know.”

“What?” Rex demanded.

“When Moss-Probert killed Gwen you were on the wrong side of the investigation,” Azrael explained. “You argued she was at fault.”

“That didn’t happen here. MP is gone. Gwen is alive.”

Rex set a hand over his face. “There isn’t a name confusion. The agent in Dublin is the older version of your son with Gwen.”

Jack then remembered the general reacted badly to Rex the last time he was at the hub. “Whitehall sent Rex to take over. He’s not taking over. If he leaves, Whitehall will send someone else.”

“I destroyed a third gen biomech lab. There is nothing Whitehall can send.”

Jack held up his hand to Azrael. “Find the general. We need to have a meeting in the conference room.”

Azrael hesitated a moment before disappearing again.

“What is he?” Rex asked.

“I don’t know.” Jack doubted Azrael knew.

“What’s his connection to Gwen?”

Jack shook his head. “He was involved with me in the future.” Even after everything it sounded insane. When they worked together on the island before the first quantum entanglement explosion, it was obvious.

“Is there anyone in this office you haven’t  dated other than me?”

Jack smiled. “Remember what I told that ambulance driver who smuggled you into the camp?” He sniffled and recreated what he could remember of the teary eyed good-bye.

“I hate you.”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Kailen Sylla reviewed the drone reports. He checked the flight information and coordinates. Then he reviewed scan data. Atmore was still there, and the bubble was active, but it was invisible to the drones. Finding it required knowing where to look.

Aman ran a hand lightly over Kailen’s back. “Find something?”

Kailen sat back. “Multiple Torchwood facilities that don’t appear to exist have sent reports.”

Aman sat, keeping his arm over Kailen’s chair. “Yeah. Idrissa received several after the Greenland island exploded.”

Kailen motioned at the screen. “Except for energy readings that no one but us can find, Atmore is gone.”

“Tiarni must have done that. Idrissa mentioned she went home.”

“Atmore can manipulate time. Four can disappear in time. The space station was hidden in some type of alternative space or time.” Kailen leaned over, resting his head on Aman’s arm. 

Aman kissed Kailen’s forehead. 

“Why?”

 

** The Falkland Islands Archives, Antarctic Observatory **

Other Keara paced. Few things surprised her. Losing complete control of a time line was surprising. There were situations she couldn’t predict or prevent. But someone was actively working against her. She had enemies. She even had a few that could target her. In order to be invisible, the person had to be completely unpredictable and actively avoiding her.

“The other Jack from the universe collision arrived at Global with John,” Felda said.

Keara groaned. That was inevitable. “We could lock him in a sorority house.”

“Could the Time Agency from the other universe be involved? Oldaria, Robert and John drew him here.”

“What would that accomplish?”

Felda shrugged. “How much do they want him dead?”

“They destroyed their universe to kill him?” Keara asked incredulously.

“The first quantum entanglement device destroyed the future of this universe. Jack fixed that by detonating the second one.” Felda gave it a moment. “Maybe they can fix the damage in their universe’s past after the other Jack’s dead. He’s a time traveler from the future. The paradox might not bring him back.”

“Search for Torchwood Three records. The same time Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper were killed in the attack on Cardiff. We need hub security footage of an intruder named Gray.”

Felda’s hands moved over her keyboard. “Jack’s brother.”

“Jack Harkness, or whatever version, has few weaknesses. Gray is universal. The guilt over his brother’s abduction overrides common sense. I haven’t seen a universe where Gray survived and didn’t become a psychopath.” Keara sighed looking at the picture. “What happened to his brother sent Jack down the path that led to the Time Agency. It had to happen.”

“You think he’s here?”

Keara nodded. “The one from this universe was in cold storage when the hub was destroyed. He could have been extracted without affecting the time line.” She paused. “I’m not sure what happened in the universe that collided with us. Jack wasn’t immortal there.”

Felda quickly converted the CCTV footage to a still image and ran facial recognition. “Fick.”

 

** Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria **

Idrissa Oliveira silenced another series of alarms. He could contacted Nova Scotia, but there was nothing the kids could do. The insanity was either a lot of inaccessible facilities or some type of system virus setting off alarms and blaming mythical locations. 

Yasmin knocked on the door jamb, looking as overwhelmed as he felt. “I think we have a problem.”

“Does it involve Atlantis?” He looked up.

“No.” She hesitated. “Zerzura.”

“The legendary city in the Sahara?”

“Yeah.” Yasmin hesitated. “Your sisters are adamant that it woke up.”

“Anyone else?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. Rezene.”

He sighed. The twenty-something was schizophrenic and believed he was the reincarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh. More than one depending on whether he had taken his medication. “I need a landmark.”

Yasmin withdrew a drawn map from her pocket, and unfolded it. “The new boy,” she closed her eyes probably trying to remember his name, “Ephrem drew the map.” 

Idrissa groaned. “It has an X and a treasure chest.”

“He’s seven or eight.” Yasmin shrugged.

“Will you ask Niesha? I need something more than a pirate map drawn by a kid who’s dissociated most of the time.”

“That’s why I’m here. Niesha took one look at the map, said something about ‘the lost city of Dionysus,’ and took off. Vijay went to find her.”

Idrissa swore and grabbed his mobile. “I am going to wake Keara.”

“Did she develop an ability?”

He laughed a less than healthy sound. “Yes.”


	26. Chapter 26

** Torchwood Three **

Anwen Williams rubbed her eyes as she headed for the conference room. Her mother tried telling her there wasn’t a problem. Trefor was three and didn’t believed that. The question as always was what happened. There was more than once odd energy in the hub. Kylia explained part of it. Rex was back; she’d programmed a notification especially for tracking the CIA agent in the building the last time he was there. She wasn’t sure why.

The air shimmered several feet in front of her and a man appeared. When she realized why he looked familiar, she started backing up. “You’re dead.”

“Probably.” Future Aman held out his hands in a universal gesture of unarmed.

“I can’t target you. You don’t exist.”

“Anwen,” he said carefully, “Other Keara told me that to save the planet I had to take control of Torchwood and prevent you from taking over.” He took a moment. “It does not justify my actions. I do not expect you to forgive me.”

A part of her believed him. She stopped and took a breath. When she first met John, she knew what he’d done and her intuition countered that knowledge. The difference was that future Aman tried to kill her. John’s crimes were overheard stories from before she was born.

“You have command authority over Torchwood Global which affects all Torchwood facilities.”

“Like Cattrel.”

“The Falkland Archives has a master control. It’s some type of fail-safe. It allows an agent with command authority to seize control of the entire network. It will provide a full list of active facilities, and possibly inactive, and allow you access.”

“Computer open communication with Torchwood Four.” It clicked. “Four, is there a master control in the Falklands.”

“Yes.”

“Would it allow me to access all Torchwood office? Even those that aren’t under Captain Harkness’s control?”

“Except Nigeria.”

“What do I have to do?” Anwen asked.

 

Jack Harkness wondered how they could improve communication. Arranging a meeting with multiple offices and multiple people in each office took more time than it should. The general went back to Ireland. Azrael took off. Ianto wouldn’t leave the infirmary. Owen was checking Dmitri’s notes. Gwen was trying to find Anwen. That was just one office.

The door opened and Toshiko entered. “Hi.” She smiled shyly at and walked around the table claiming a seat one chair away from Jack.

“Rex Masterson, Toshiko Sato.”

“Tosh.” She kept her eyes on the table.

The conference room com sounded. Jack accepted the incoming message from Global wondering if the alien ships returned. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Soldier Keara hesitated. “John returned. I need you to come up. Just you.”

From what he understood, she was previously involved with John. She should be able to handle him. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t come back alone.”

Jack knew he was missing something. “Just tell me.”

“No. This is something you need to see.”

“We’re having a meeting.” Jack checked his pocket watch. “Dublin and Nova Scotia are expecting a call in ten minutes.”

“It can wait. Just stake Masterson and leave him a closet.”

Rex looked up from the other end of the table.

Jack set a hand over his face. “He can hear you.” 

“Good. You’re needed upstairs now, Jack.” The call ended.

“Who is that?” Rex asked.

Before Jack could reply, a white light surrounded him.

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Jack Harkness arrived on the space station. The white light said it was Robert’s ship rather than the device originally used to abduct John. That didn’t lessen the annoyance. They had too much going on.

“Hey.” John sounded amused.

Jack turned and his intended comment disappeared. A carbon copy of himself stood next to John. “What did you do?”

“I heard rumors. If body hunters were tracking John he was still alive.”

Jack couldn’t help but stare. “Robert’s universe.”

The Other laughed although the humor didn’t reach his eyes. He approached slowly. It didn’t take much for Jack to interpret the body language. It was so much like his own. The Other was angry. The type built on pain and loss. From what Robert said, losing John must have been as horrific as the aftermath of losing Ianto to the 456. 

“Why are you here?”

“Oldaria, Robert.” There was an edge to his voice saying there was more to it.

“Before you leave, Oldaria needs to resolve the Antarctica situation.”

The other’s body tensed as he neared giving Jack an extra moment to dodge a punch. 

John tried to get between them.

Jack backed away. 

“You left the agency and didn’t take John with you. What did you think was going to happen?”

Nothing Jack could think of would defuse the situation. Oldaria’s confusion over the conflict suddenly made sense. He couldn’t picture a world where he loved John. Circumstances must have been very different.

“I caused the conflict.” Hearing John take responsibility was unexpected.

The Other wrapped an arm around John. “Oldaria is hiding in a warehouse. You turned John into your errand boy.”

“I have information that Oldaria’s storage is being targeted. Do you know who?”

John rested his head against the Other’s shoulder and the tension started to fade. 

“Yeah.” The Other nodded. “Who has the knowledge and technology to come after an inter-dimensional being with Oldaria’s technology besides a Time Lord?”

Shit . “The Time Agency.” Robert said his father was killed by the agency because a conflict with the other version of himself. “The one from your universe.” That sounded insane. “Why?”

“I learned something I shouldn’t have. A small group was manipulating the past for personal gain.”

Jack vaguely remembered the time agency. “Did they create an army or conduct medical experiments on children?”

“Children?” The other asked, incredulously. “To accomplish what?”

“One theory is it could reverse a partial Cyberman conversion.” Jack didn’t trust the Other with full details. He still wasn’t confident John wouldn’t exploit the situation nevertheless the stranger.

The Other closed his eyes as something occurred to him. “Do you have someone playing dark psychological games?”

“Possibly.”

“The agency unleashed the perfect weapon.” The Other opened his eyes. “Gray.”

“My brother tried to destroy my city.” That unfortunately would explain more than a few things. “How stable is your brother?”

“He was a functioning psychopath. After finding him, I had him admitted to a specialty clinic. Treatment had been partly successful when the Time Agency recruited him.” The Other sighed. “I caught him and tried to hide him. When he escaped, my John took him down.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Gwen Cooper stepped into the conference room expecting to find Jack leading a conference call. Instead she found Rex staring at the table while Tosh and Owen reviewed tablets. “Where’s Jack?”

“Upstairs.” Rex sounded resigned. “He disappeared in a pillar of white light.”

That sounded like Jack’s vortex manipulator or Robert’s transporter. “Why is he at Global?”

“John returned,” Tosh said quietly.

Unless Anwen knew that, and had a way to access Global, that didn’t explain where she went. “Computer open com to Four.”

“Are we having the meeting?” The general asked.

“Not now. Anwen’s missing. Is she there?”

“Hold on.” The call went silent for a couple minutes. “She’s at the Falkland Archives.”

That took Gwen a moment to process. “Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where’s Azrael?”

Rex replied, “Jack told him to find the general.”

“He’s not here.” The general paused. “Azrael knows more about the Torchwood network than any of us except the Kearas. He could have convinced Anwen to give him access to something. She trusts John.” The general obviously found that questionable.

Gwen groaned. “What is it with Anwen and Jack’s psychotic exs?”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Ianto Jones sat next to Kylia in the infirmary and held her hand. Even after the note she sent seeing her as an adult was a lot to process. She reminded him of Lisa. She even had the same taste in jewelry. 

The wedding band reminded him of the conversation with Whitehall. He’d taken the relationship for granted thinking they had time. Not that it would have matter. He couldn’t save Lisa from the Cyberman. 

“What?” Kylia asked quietly.

“You look like your grandmother.”

She smiled as she reached for the necklace she wore. “It was the last present she gave me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“My grandparents lived long lives and died hours apart.” She reached over and set her hand over his. “You have a life here. Circumstances were different. There was nothing you could have done.”

Ianto wished he believed that. “How long are you staying?”

“I don’t know. When the transition sickness fades, I need to go home. Gray worries.”

“He’s good to you?”

“Yeah. My in-laws are strange. But Gray is wonderful.”

Ianto smiled sadly. “I wish I could have seen the wedding.”

“The Jones, Harkness and Sarkisian families of Torchwood.” Kylia laughed. “Near the end of the ceremony, a crisis notification went out and three-fourths of our guests left.” She took a moment. “We found out after the honeymoon that Jack took Gray’s com before the ceremony. When he didn’t report for work, the office nearly reported him missing.”

That reminded him of Gwen’s wedding. Jack spiked the champagne with retcon because of an alien disruption. 

“Uncle Jack loves you. If he’s half as insane as my husband’s grandfather, your life will never be boring.”

Ianto could agree with that.


	27. Chapter 27

** The Falkland Islands Archives, Antarctic Observatory **

Anwen Williams arrived to stale air and dusty consoles. Unsure how to access the system, she flipped open her wrist-strap and tried to remember what John said about manual controls. Azrael appeared across the room reminding her of the Cheshire Cat more than the one from Smurfs. He passed his hand through a console and the workstation activated.

“Does it accept voice commands?” Anwen hoped. It would make it easier.

“Yes.”

Don’t activate the master controls . Anwen recognized the voice. She hadn’t heard from the essence of her future self bonded to her wrist-strap in a long time. 

“Computer command authorization Anwen Williams. List all active and inactive Torchwood offices.”

Locations filled the screen.

“Computer package information and send to Torchwood Nova Scotia.”

“Activate the master controls.”

Anwen eyed him. “Why?”

Azrael made an unhappy sound.

“Can I access locations individually?” Anwen looked at the hard drive she grabbed from the maintenance bot workshop before leaving the hub.

“Yes.”

Anwen thought aloud. “If I upload the program to an active location Luc can use drones to monitor for reactions.”

“Forcing control would work better,” Azrael countered.

“That would end badly.” Her older self wouldn’t have intervened otherwise.

An intruder alarm sounded.

“Computer command authorization Anwen Williams assuming control of this facility.” She paused. “End alarm.”

Anwen opened a docking station on the on the active console and inserted the hard drive. “Computer activate voice commands.” She waited. “Disable all other access.” 

“Access disabled.”

“Upload Disney Dragon program 1.” After the computer acknowledged it, she continued, “Activate program 1 in response to unauthorized access attempts.”

“What does the program do?”

Anwen smiled. “It’s audio-visual. This version displaces Disney images and plays Puff the Magic Dragon.”

“Why?” Azrael sounded unsure he wanted to know.

“I designed it originally to annoy Luc. But it helped John and Uncle Jack attack Cattrel and free the captive dragons.” Another idea made her smile widen. “Access internal CCTV footage.” 

She tapped an image on the screen of two women in a computer room. Each screen showed a different cartoon. Even without sound the women were obviously trying to regain control and failing.

Azrael laughed. “You have spent too much time with Jack.”

 

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams filled his coffee thermos. A quick taste confirmed Nessa bought the gourmet blend she preferred. It was definitely better than the last coffee they had. He wasn’t sure if that was his fault or Malcolm’s. 

He smiled thinking about Liam. He had no standards whatsoever. The last time they’d discussed bad coffee, he said whiskey would fix it. The hangover the next morning was memorable. Liam barely blinked. 

“The coffee is that good?” Rogan asked.

“Just remembering a friend’s recipe for Irish coffee.” It resembled motor oil.

Rogan shook his head. “I have information on Rossiter.”

The general capped his thermos. “Good news?” He motioned Rogan to walk with him.

“Weird news. You said you received evidence that Kevan Rossiter was distributing something more exotic than illegal prescription drugs?”

“Yeah.”

“The investigation into the homicide at the warehouse and the attack led raids on other facilities and Kevan Rossiter’s car. They were selling study drugs on the black market. Nothing exotic was found.”

The general wondered. “Was the truck found?”

“No. There are three registered to Rossister companies that are unaccounted for. Two were last seen at a port in Cork.”

The general nodded. They needed to investigate the source of the pills Malcolm was given. It should be simple enough to trace students with family members that worked for Rossiter companies. Kevan’s treatment of girls, particularly lower income girls, offered more than one possibly explanation. It could be a whistle-blower or it could be retaliation for misogyny. Or the note was intentionally misleading.

“I will see what I can find.”

“There is pressure from London. Serious accusations have been made about your father. Irish law enforcement has no concern about your qualifications.” Rogan hesitated. “There are concerns about your father and Torchwood’s new leadership.”

The general nodded. His mum explained the situation and Rex the best she could. “My father and I have similar views on sex and companionship, although he’s been in a committed relationship for a year-and-a-half. Imagine the jokes Gardai would make about me, if they knew. Then picture someone in government taking the jokes seriously.”

“I thought about that,” Rogan said quietly. 

“The new leadership was also misconstrued. I have no idea what London was told about Rex Masterson, but he’s not going to cause problems that will destabilize Torchwood.” After Miracle Day, the arse knew its value even if he had no understanding of loyalty.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

After the unnerving visit to the space station, Jack Harkness finally arranged the meeting. They had several problems. Resolving them without losing anyone else would be difficult. With his brother and the Time Agency involved, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Jack stood in the hallway outside the conference room. He flipped open his wrist-strap. “Anwen Williams.”

“No.”

“Your mother is worried.”

“I’m safe.” She sounded amused.

“Why are you at the archives?”

“Azrael wanted me to activate some master control. I came up with a better idea.”

Jack wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “What did you do?”

She explained about the dragon program. “I can disable any enemy Torchwood facility from here.”

“Is Azrael still there?”

“Yes.” He sighed.

“I have reason to believe this situation involves both the Time Agency from another universe and my brother. Anwen needs to release the archives and come home.”

“She will not listen to reason.”

Jack smiled. “John’s at Global. If you come back I can arrange a video conference.”

“Cool.” Anwen laughed. “I haven’t seen the space station yet.” She disconnected.

That had not gone as he hoped. Jack returned to the conference room. They had to get started before anything else happened. He met Gwen’s gaze and mouthed “she’s fine.” Although he wasn’t sure Azrael’s opinion of Anwen. 

“Are we connected?”

Ianto nodded. He sat next to Kylia and wasn’t happy she was there.

“We have five locations participating in this meeting and several new people.” Jack walked to the head of the table and his chair. “Please identify yourself and your location when addressing the meeting.” He sat. “There are several remaining problems. At least one enslaved alien is unaccounted for. Gordon-Glen’s headquarters has not been found. Rossiter pharmaceuticals is somehow connected to Gordon-Glen. The alien situation over Antarctica is more complicated than we originally thought. Does anyone have updates?”

“General Williams in Dublin. There is no evidence the drug sample Malcolm received is being distributed at the school. We are looking for a whistle-blower, and need Liam to review his social media information for possible connections between Rossiter and local drugs.”

“Eryn in Nova Scotia. Using information provided by archives, Luc and Kailen uncovered a Torchwood facility north of Scandinavia. The island has readings similar to Greenland.”

“Robert at Global. I need details. Is there any way to communicate with the aliens? We need an idea how many haven’t been found yet.”

“Dr. Harper in Cardiff,” Owen said from Jack’s right, “The children at the facility have mentioned John. They might answer his questions.”

“John Hart at Global. Anwen would be a better choice.”

“Gwen in Cardiff.” She sat next to Jack. “Get her to come back from the Falklands and she can.”

“Idrissa in Nigeria. Does anyone know where Azrael is? We need him to come home.”

“Archives,” Jack said. “Their com is currently disabled. Secure your equipment to prevent a program from accessing Nigeria from Archives.”

“Kailen in Nova Scotia. Does Archives need assistance?”

“No.” Jack smiled. “Anwen is terrorizing Other Keara and her computer tech.”

John laughed. “I’ll contact her.”

“Rex in Cardiff.” He set his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Where are we with the Antarctica situation?”

“Luc in Nova Scotia. I need a frame of reference for that situation.”

“Toshiko Sato in Cardiff.” She looked uneasy. “They need a lot of energy and Bose-Einstein Condensate.”

Owen sat a hand on hers.

“There aren’t a lot of places capable of producing the condensate,” Luc said. “We can track that.” Voices faintly came over the connection. “Tracking Rossiter is more complicated than condensate. What is Liam’s priority?”

Tosh looked at Jack. “I can find the condensate.”

“Simon at Global,” Not-Jack said. “If it is Gray, he’s predictable. He will target our children and lovers. The agency uses him for psychological warfare. The quantum entanglement device that killed your man was probably a distraction. The question is whether they can tell us apart.”

Everyone at the table stared at Jack.

“The Time Agency in this universe preferred invisible tactics.”

“Yeah. Masterson could also be a distraction. Check him for tech.”

“I reconfigured the hub scanners to specifically check for concealed tech,” Luc said. 

“Anwen flagged Rex for additional scans.” Gwen smiled at him. “He’s clean.”

Tosh looked at Jack. “The Cardiff Docks explosion could have had the same effect other explosions have had. It could have accessed or activated an alien facility.”

“We need the satellites looking for options. Luc, you said you have a list of facilities from the archives. We need drones in the air over them.”

“Kailen again. Atmore is actively hiding. I have to know it’s there to find it.”

“Ianto Jones in Cardiff. Is Atmore visibly gone?”

“Yes,” Kailen replied.

“Check for visual confirmation,” Ianto said. “Any facility that can’t be found is concealed.”

“Kylia in Cardiff. I might be able to help. Can you send the list?”


	28. Chapter 28

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Liam Doughtery lay on his covers with his feet near his headboard watching Jeannette try a ridiculous new club dance she’d seen on some show for teenagers. After the latest situation in Cardiff, she was stressed and couldn’t sleep. Not that he could blame her. He’d consumed enough coffee in the last sixteen hours that he felt the cartoon squirrel that used to posted on social media. 

“I look drunk,” Jeannette concluded sitting down in front of the webcam again. 

Liam smiled. “No.” 

“What’s it like in Canada?”

“Cold.” It was a conversation they’d had a few times.

“Then come home. We can go shopping.”

He wondered if he could return briefly, but he’d lose his nerve. “It’s not a good idea.”

She sighed melodramatically as only a teenage girl could. “What happened? Trefor and Nessa won’t explain it either. All three of you are unhappy.”

“Jeannette…” It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have nevertheless with a teenager traumatized by her only sexual relationship.

“I’m going to guess it’s emotional. Something about competing with my sister for Trefor.” She smiled. “Or you got sick of them shagging like rabbits.”

Liam closed his eyes and lowered his head. 

“Why are you doing this to yourself? To me. I missed sales at the mall last week.”

“At what stores?” 

“L onracha.”

Liam grimaced at her pronunciation. “That’s at Blanchardstown.” He looked at her. The last time Jeannette went to that mall her, Molly and Nessa were trapped.

“I know,” she said quietly. 

He felt awful. “Relationships between two people are difficult. With three…” He trailed off. 

“Trefor is the first person my sister’s dated for any length of time. No matter how open minded a person claims to be, they start demanding new rules after awhile. The ridiculous production of dating other people and picking up other people together is their way of reassuring each other that nothing has changed.” Jeannette paused. “You had to know about the overly enthusiastic rabbit thing before you got involved with Trefor.”

“They’re not that bad.”

Jeanette narrowed her eyes at him. “If you mention Trefor’s broken office chair, they start laughing. The kids, they’re eleven and nine, can figure that one out.”

Liam laughed. 

“No one else thinks it funny.”

The door chimed. “Hold on.”

Liam slid off the bed and headed for the door. 

Eryn waited on the other side. “General Williams needs a social media review for Rossiter and local drugs.”

“I left the details in Dublin.”

Eryn hesitated. “Are you willing to go back for it? The situation is bad.”

He closed his eyes. “I can.”

“Do you need me to make arrangements?”

“No. Jeannette’s on Skype.” 

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

John Hart reviewed his equipment while Robert described the situation. It sounded like another version of the Greenland facility except it was Torchwood like Cattrel. Neither of those situations went as planned. But it gave him an idea.

“Anwen needs to infect the facility with her dragon program from archives. After I arrive, she needs to force control of the facility, if possible, through our wrist-straps.”

“Dragon program?” Simon walked over. He’d made it clear he didn’t like the assignment. 

“Yeah. It’s an audio-visual bug.”

Simon set a hand on his shoulder. “How old is she?”

“Eleven.” John smiled. “I’ve reviewed the program. It worked on a previous facility.”

“It’s known.”

“The tactics are different.”

“I don’t want you to do this.”

John stood and meet Simon’s eyes. “I can teleport. I escaped from a cell Oldaria designed. The problem is disabling the facility so Robert can get the alien out.”

 

** The Falkland Islands Archives, Antarctic Observatory **

Anwen Williams reactivated the environmental controls and summoned a maintenance bot to clean the workroom. The computer system was different than the hub. It wasn’t user friendly, but she would recommend a redesign when she was back in Cardiff. 

Return control to Other Keara .

Anwen groaned. “Why?”

You’re endangering the planet . The essence of her future self sounded as exasperated as Azrael. 

“Computer command authority Anwen Williams.” She issued new commands.

The intercom clicked. “Go home.” The agitated woman sounded German.

Anwen smiled. “No.”

The woman swore. Anwen didn’t need to speak German to recognize the tone. 

“Is that any way to talk with a kid present?”

 

** (Torchwood facility); Bear Island, Norwegian Svalbard Archipelago **

John Hart teleported into an unused section of the facility. He flipped open his wrist-strap and scanned the facility again wishing he had the general’s layout options. The results were unexpected. It was definitely the Time Agency but the modifications suggested a connection to  Aloxixon II. He vaguely remembered Jack mentioning that previously. That made the situation worse.

After another scan to check the hallway outside the door, John teleported through. As he walked, he wondered about motivation. The agency must have arrived before he did. It had to be more than Simon. The interference could explain problems Torchwood had when he first arrived in 2042. The question was why.  No one in the agency would mistake Jack and Simon. A quick quantum scan would show obvious differences. 

Then it came to him. John stopped and activated the modified ear com Robert provided.

“Everything all right?” Robert asked.

“I need to speak to Simon.”

After a moment, he said, “Hey.”

“I know what the agency’s doing. This universe has easier access to other universes. By creating military and medicine here it can be distributed across barriers.”

“How are they bypassing the remaining Time Lords?”

“Jack is a time disruption caused by Time Lord technology. It can’t be fixed. There is a time traveler here manipulating universes without a Time Lord showing up to object.”

“The corrupt agencies can operate without risk of offending temporal law enforcement.”

“We need to find their portals. Tell Keara.”

“You need to get out of there.”

When the buzzing started, he had to agree. John dropped to his knees. “To late. Have Keara get to the Falklands now. Anwen’s down.” 

“John?” 

“Anwen is down.” Everything went black.

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Jack Harkness stood in a maintenance room surrounded by John’s three dimensional representation of Cardiff. He created it using special effects equipment and CCTV footage of the city. He marked sections with different activity using police reports. 

Gwen stepped into the doorway. “What is this?”

Jack smiled. “We’ve wondered what future Anwen saw in John. I barely remember working with him.” He motioned around the room.

“I see an out of control psycho that tried to kill me by kissing me with paralyzing lip gloss. That is obsessed with my kid.”

“He color coded organized crime. Sal, Oldaria, the Neonazis, others. With his database, we could probably take down the area’s career criminals.”

Gwen looked around the room. “He found his peers.”

“This will lead us to Gray. John was looking for Leith Evanson. He didn’t have the right information.”

Before Gwen could respond, the intercom clicked. “Jack,” Toshiko said, “The Falklands facility is under attack. Global has responded. Drones above the Norwegian island facility are showing widespread damage. The readings are confusing.”

“Could the damage be caused by telekinesis?”

“What?” 

“John has a telekinetic ability,” Jack said.

“I don’t know.”

“Jack,” Gwen said wide eyed, her voice quiet. “Anwen’s still connected to the hive mind. If she’s seriously hurt, John went down. One of the hive mind drones crushed Werner Heartfield with an impact comparable to a car for threatening Teleri. What would she do to defend John?”

“Tosh,” Jack said, “Scan the Rift.” 

“The limit to her ability is physical endurance. With John’s fused Nanogenes and the hive mind…” Gwen trailed off.

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Soldier Keara reviewed the insane readings. She’d seen firsthand what the adult version of Anwen could do with her Rift ability. Keara thought using the Rift and debris to impale an alien fleet over London was impressive. With a combination of telekinesis and the Rift, Anwen was tearing the facility apart.

The blood rushed from Simon’s face as he viewed the destruction. “I need to go.” 

Keara reached out and grabbed his arm. “You can’t. The maelstrom would kill you.”

“I can’t lose him. Not again.”

“You won’t.” Keara activated a com connection to Torchwood Three. 

“We’re busy,” Rex said.

“I need to talk to Jack. John’s in a hellish situation and no one else can get to him.”

Simon pulled his arm back. “I have to go.”

“No. Jack has to do this.” The image that flashed through her mind made her smile. 

 

** (Torchwood facility); Bear Island, Norwegian Svalbard Archipelago **

Jack Harkness ran the best he could the short distance to the entrance as quickly as he could over the uneven ground. Ianto insisted on cold weather gear and sunglasses. It took longer to leave Cardiff, but the boots kept Jack upright on the frozen snow. He used a lock-pick on the secured door and it screeched open partly. He forced it the rest of the way.

The outside was nothing compared to the inside. Wind circulated through the hallways like one of Anwen’s telekinetic tantrums. The parka protected him from flying metal chunks. He dodged a panel or part of a metal table before it slammed into the wall. The clang reverberated.

He scanned the building and quickly found John’s wrist-strap. Getting there would take time and effort. Soldier Keara specifically requested he respond because she said the facility was a death trap. Jack assumed she exaggerated. 

A sharp piece of metal cut his leg before embedding in the wall. Jack activated his ballistic shield, but was unsure how the telekinetic windstorm would affect it. The air spun around him, and the miscellaneous, flying debris increased. A wooden chair tumbled end over end toward him, splinters and chunks breaking off at every impact.

It felt like an eternity before he found John slumped against a wall. Jack carefully lifted John as the ballistic shield expanding around them. The effect seemed to increase with John protected. The walls were coming apart as Jack carried John outside.

A moment after switching the shield off, they were surrounded by a white pillar of light. 


	29. Chapter 29

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

General Trefor Williams quickly reinstated Liam’s access and gave him one of the unused offices. The awkwardness meant they wouldn’t be working together in the main office. The general wasn’t sure what to say. Liam had trouble making eye contact. 

“I’m sorry,” Liam said quietly facing away. 

“No. I should have known when you asked if we were kicking you out of bed.” There had been a lot of clues before that the general knew he should have seen.

Liam lowered his head. “I’m jealous.”

The general took a few steps forward slowly watching Liam’s reaction. “I assumed you understood.”

“I thought I did.”

The general set a hand on Liam’s shoulder. Liam reached up and set a hand on the general’s. They stood in silence for a couple minutes until the general set his forehead to the back of Liam’s head.

“I don’t know how to fix this.”

Liam squeezed the general’s hand. “Enough whiskey and we won’t remember the problem.”

“No more Irish coffee.” The general smiled. 

Liam laughed. 

The general ran his hand around Liam’s waist and hugged him. “When this is over, we need to talk.”

“Yeah.” 

 

** The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada **

Villetta Thirion spoke to Other Keara briefly. The attack on the Falklands was a direct result of Anwen sending information to Nova Scotia. They had a leak. It didn’t take much to guess. Only three people outside of that office potentially had access.

She had to be sure and called Monty first. He couldn’t lie convincingly. “Sarkisian.”

“Hey.”

“Ettie?” He sounded distracted. “Where are you calling from? I heard you dropped out of the university.”

“Sorry I didn’t call. I got a research opportunity.”

“EM drive?” He took a moment. “I got funding for CO2 scrubbers. We’re going to save the planet despite the politicians and businessman.”

Ettie smiled. “Luc has a security problem. Did you try to remote access his office?”

“No. That new tech removed my access. I called and asked for atmospheric data.” She could picture Monty’s expression. Withholding scientific information was the worst crime he could imagine. “Since when was environmental data classified?”

“What do you need it for?”

“Monitoring a change in solar flares. There was weird energy over northern Alaska on January 12.”

It took Ettie a moment to place to date. Toshiko Sata arrived that day. “Did Luc send you information?”

“No. I called and talked to a teenager with a serious attitude problem. Where did Luc recruit a South African?”

“You probably talked to Aman. Luc’s dating his sister-in-law.”

“Luc has a girlfriend?” Monty found that dubious.

Ettie smiled. “Yeah. I need to call Jerard and see why he’s messing with Luc.”

“I thought he was under permanent house arrest at a government lab?”

“He is.”

“Look, I have to go. We’re having problems with our prototype.”

Ettie shook her head. The Sarkisian cousins. She was researching alien spaceships. Luc was taking on aliens. Monty was saving the planet from people. And Jerard, the criminally insane genius was aspiring to be Walter Bishop. 

Kol stepped into her lab. “Keara wants me to abduct a Canadian scientist?”

Ettie laughed. “My cousin Jerard has been misbehaving.”

 

** Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland **

Liam Doughtery reviewed his notes. He needed a new angle. Then he realized the one thing he hadn’t determined was where Kevan Rossiter or his family got the bad ecstasy for the fake CN scare. They had to know about CN and the drug similarity. It was possible they got the information from the news. Liam doubted it. Either way the bad batch of pills came from somewhere. If anyone died, the Gardai wouldn’t have let it go. That suggested the drugs had been carefully tainted to prevent bad reactions and deaths. That was complicated.

He quickly checked the blood work and other details the police sent. He then followed up on the names. There had been a bad reaction. Twenty-year-old Tiernan Meara was hospitalized but had a miraculous recovery according to his mother in a recent article. Liam suspected the drug. He’d located the Caribbean island because of a health miracle.

Jeannette stepped into the office. “Where’s my hug?” She pouted.

Liam smiled and stood as she crossed the office. “I have work to do.” He hugged her.

“More Rossiter shit?”

“Yeah.” Liam returned to his seat while Jeannette leaned on the desk.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No.” From what Liam knew of Kevan, he had an idea how the patient connected to Rossiter. He didn’t want Jeannette hearing about it.

A few minutes later he concluded that Tiernan had two sisters. The younger of them attended school with Malcolm and Kevan. “Would you call your brother and ask if he knows a Shannon Meara?”

Jeannette took her phone from her back. “Why?”

Liam hesitated.

“Why?”

He reluctantly explained what he discovered. He suspected Kevan extorted sex from Shannon for the pills, but kept that to himself. Unfortunately, Jeannette realized what he was leaving out. After what she went through with Eddie, it wasn’t surprising that she identified with Shannon.

“I will gut him.”

Under different circumstances, he wouldn’t take the threat seriously. Except she killed Eddie Cattrel with a fireball. She was hopped up on drugs at the time that he probably gave her. “Trefor will handle it. Please call Malcolm.”

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Jack Harkness stood with John in the maintenance room with the holographic reproduction of Cardiff. After Four returned Anwen from the archives, and Owen used the partial Nanogene station to heal her, John woke up. Between her initial injuries and the Rift ability usage, Anwen would be out for awhile. John wasn’t completely steady. The psychic rampage had to affect him also, but he hadn’t said anything.

“We have a few details from Leith Evanson. You were right about him being a sociopath.”

John nodded slightly. “Deidre Austin.”

“She’s not his girlfriend. I got the impression Evanson is afraid of her.”

“The Beddoe situation hasn’t made any sense.”

“What are you thinking?”

John looked at Jack. “How many people know you and Andy are friends?”

“He’s Gwen’s friend.” Although Andy had been kind about the drugging situation and the fertility clinic investigation.

“Is Andy on the list of Cardiff PD people you’re supposedly shagging?”

Jack set a hand over his face. He hadn’t thought of that. None of them had. 

“Who gave the alien bounty hunters the paperwork on Michael?”

“The attacks on Dr. Floyd, Andy, the general and Cory?” Jack shook his head.

“How far back? If Gray was behind the explosion at Cardiff Docks, he knew about that soft spot. Were Gwen’s injuries accidental?”

“This is going to make us crazy.” Another thought came to mind. Jack found his mobile. 

“Harper.”

“There may be a problem with Tosh. Are you sure the implants were completely removed?”


	30. Chapter 30

** The Arctic Observatory; Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut, Canada **

Villetta Thirion was impressed with how quickly Kol retrieved her cousin. The Canadian government’s best security didn’t have much of a chance against a third gen biomech using alien technology. They didn’t have cells. She had to modify a quarantine room. She used a maintenance bot to check anything Jerard could exploit. He was crazy, but he was still a Sarkisian.

“Did he say anything?”

“He asked for a window and a steak. I think he was negotiating for a better deal.”

Ettie laughed. “Check your pockets.”

“Yeah. Keara warned about that.”

She walked over to the thick, clear plastic and eyed her cousin in the bland cell. It had a shelf-like bed with a built-in mattress. It looked a Star Fleet brig. Jerard stood and approached the window.

She tapped the com panel. “Why did you remote access Luc’s office?”

“I was following orders.”

“Uh huh. You leaked information about a Torchwood facility. It was then attacked. Making it worse, the head of Torchwood’s niece was in the facility at the time.” Although Ettie suspected Gwen would be a lot angrier.

“It was a list of Torchwood facilities.”

Then an alarm sounded.

“I have to take your ship.” Kol disappeared using his portal device.

Ettie narrowed her eyes at Jerard. “If my ship is so much as scratched…”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Alarms blared. Luc Sarkisian activated the defenses. A lot had changed since future Aman sent biomechs to siege Nova Scotia. He was better prepared. They had drones, sentinels, modified bots and anti-biomech weapons. While he doubted anyone was getting through the walls, they were ready.

“Eryn, Hana and Matt are secured in one the interior rooms. Kailen’s getting drones in the air. He’s launching everything we have and requested more from Four. He thinks the entire network list was compromised rather than just archives.”

Luc nodded. It made more sense. “Our location was publicized. Why are they hitting us now?”

“The Norwegian island facility was destroyed.”

“No. That had nothing to do with us.”

Aman paused. “A distraction?”

“They don’t want us to see something.”

 

Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria

Azrael reviewed the scrolling information. The attack started with the archives. That arguably cut them off from back-up files. He found it unlikely they knew about Anwen. Other Keara might have been a target, but that wasn’t the way to kill her. He could only guess that sending the file to Nova Scotia led to the archive attack. Hitting the two Canadian offices next was really confusing. If they were after Aman, they wouldn’t have attacked the Observatory. That suggested they were after the Sarkisians.

He had to look up the details, but there were four cousins. He’d done his homework after Other Keara mislead him into attacking Nova Scotia. Luc in Truro. Ettie at the Observatory. Jerard was listed in government custody. That left Monty. A Google search found his current research project in Alaska.

Idrissa entered the workroom. “There is no indication of a pending attack. The Refuge people are preparing anyway.”

“I need to check on a future Torchwood scientist. He is related to two current ones.”

“Please be careful.”

Azrael moved over and kissed Idrissa lightly. “He may need to be relocated.”

Idrissa nodded. “I will be ready.”

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

The well-timed assault gave them little time to prepare. Soldier Keara activated her headset and coordinated with the various ships and pilots. Jack and the general accepted two of Robert’s Chula warships. Simon had his own ships. John volunteered but was in no condition. Robert was relocating the alien to Europa. She preferred having more pilots, but two versions of Jack and the general was good.

“Light ‘em up!” The general declared. He always sounded happy rushing into battle. 

“Target their shields half a meter in front of their starboard engines,” Simon said. “There is a power distribution design flaw.”

“If you can’t target their flaw,” Keara said, “Flank them and herd toward the general.”

Keara than activated the few combat satellites that had been deployed. They were little more than mobile land mines, but it would help. The station’s defenses were better against larger ships. 

Jack added a few minutes later, “These are inexperienced pilots.”

Other Keara appeared suddenly. “What are they doing?” 

A simultaneous attack , the younger Keara said telepathically.  Get eyes on Antarctica .

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Ianto Jones entered Jack’s office looking for a Rolodex. Tosh wanted information on a company that no longer existed and she thought Jack might have outdated information. He definitely had anachronistic tendencies. Although Ianto didn’t remember seeing an address book or other written notes. He quickly checked the drawers and found a rubber band ball the size of his fist, and a toy spaceship, but no addresses.

He stood, hands planted on the wooden desk, trying to think of where to look when an owl feather landed on his hand. Without a thought, he removed his gun from his shoulder holster with one hand and grabbed stun pellets from his pocket with the other. Then he tapped his ear com.

“We have a security breach. I am in Jack’s office. I don’t have eyes on the person or people.”

“Feather?” Gwen asked.

“Yep.”

“I’m in the conference room with Rex. Hide.”

 

John Hart teleported to the nearest armory. With Jack off-planet, he’d insisted on an ear com. Gwen and Rex ran down the hall. He handed them each a gun and a knife. 

“Anwen says one intruder has chronons. Both have Rift energy. It could be an ability.” John said. Although the hive mind was gone with the last of the aliens, they were still connected after the shared coma. She’d released him enough to wake up, but he suspected she was subconsciously holding on.

Rex eyed him. “Anwen’s unconscious.”

John tapped his head. 

“No wind storm.” Gwen said checking the clip.

“She knows.” John than disappeared.

He arrived in the back hallway leading to the main area. He pressed his back to the wall and listened. Two people were at a first floor workstation. He could hear their breathing and the clicking of keys. They already accessed the system. 

He backed down the hall quietly.  I need your mother’s mobile number.

Anwen recited the numbers and he dialed. They thankfully were not close yet.

“Cooper,” she said softly.

“They have system access. Harper or Sato. My monies on Sato.”

“Can you handle it?”

“Yeah.” He just needed to shoot the workstations.

John walked carefully back down the hall after the call ended. The quiet voices said one was a woman. He peered around the corner and saw the duo. The man’s hands flew over the keyboard. The woman stood behind him. She looked at him as if sensing something. He ducked back as energy impacted the wall.

The office door opened and something bounced off the railing and than hit the floor. It sounded like a stun pellet. 

“Jack’s boyfriend.” 

The familiar voice made John’s heart race. They didn’t have to find Gray because he found them. John wondered if the woman was Deidre. That would explain Beddoe. The energy suggested a Rift ability. There were too many things that could go wrong.

 

Ianto Jones heard Gray’s voice when he tossed the stun pellet. He had wanted to see what they would do. The smell of scorched wall said there was a bigger problem then he expected. A ballistic shield and destabilizer would take the person down. It worked for Jeannette. But it would start a fire in the process.

“Lewella, I need your help,” Ianto said in Welsh. He didn’t have another option.

No you do not.

Ianto wondered why she would warn him but not help. It didn’t matter. Stopping Gray did. After a deep breath, he approached the door again. It slid open and he tossed another stun pellet. When they didn’t react, he stepped through onto the metal platform and walked as quietly toward the railing as he could. The woman looked up at him and a wave of energy passed him a moment later. He dodged. After dodging another attack, Ianto fired three times striking the woman in the chest.

Gray reached for something and Ianto stepped backward toward Jack’s office.

John yelled, “Gray!” 

An energy weapon discharged in John’s direction. Ianto quietly returned to the railing as John returned fire. With Gray’s back turned, Ianto fired three more times. Gray landed on the floor next to the woman between the workstations.

John carefully stepped into the doorway and tilted his head as if listening. Then he strode across the main floor. “We need facial rec.” 

 

** Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales **

Gwen Cooper insisted on both Tosh and Owen being escorted to the conference room. She unfortunately agreed with John, it was probably Tosh. Gwen grabbed scan equipment from the infirmary to check for cybernetics. Owen wouldn’t have missed anything she could find. It had to be psychological, and done before Tosh arrived in this universe.

“How do we know it’s one of them?” Rex asked.

“The person has computer access. John,” would have been her first guess, “doesn’t.” Anwen reluctantly removed it after he was locked down in Oldaria’s warehouse.

The door opened and Bree stepped into the room. Ianto had taken over her duties in the nursery watching the kids and Ken. “What’s happening?”

“Have you ever diagnosed psychological conditioning?” Gwen wondered if the accusations against Jack were a type of sick joke.

Bree grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

“One of them granted hub access to intruders.”

Gwen spoke quietly to Rex. “I need to run diagnostics and review security footage. Stay here.”

As she walked down the hall, she had to consider the possibility it was Rex somehow. He didn’t have access, and as far as she knew, he’d never had it. But he’d been a prisoner in South America. Thinking about trauma made her think of Bree. She previously had access, and Jodi’s death hadn’t been resolved. By the same logic, John could be guilty. But the more she thought about, Anwen would have noticed. Tosh was still the most likely answer.

Using John’s desk in Ianto’s office, she quickly realized they had an additional problem. They had no footage of the intruders entering nor any computer footprint. Rather than risk the ear com, she headed for the infirmary. John was sitting with Anwen while Owen was in the conference room. With Jack off-world, she didn’t have a lot of options.

John looked up from a chair next to Anwen when she entered. “Problem?”

Gwen explained the situation. 

“Anwen is suggesting you check Ms. Sato’s stash of equipment.”

Gwen eyed him.

“After what Gray did to me, what he made me do, you think I would work with him?” The blue light flickered behind John’s eyes.


	31. Chapter 31

“He sings the songs that remind him of the good times. He sings the songs that remind him of the best times.”

Tubthumper by Chumbawamba

 

** Antarctica **

Jack Harkness scanned the area with the Chula warship. The energy readings were insane. The breach Kylia mentioned was in progress. The readings reminded him of Cardiff Docks during the fulgurite situation. After a moment, he realized the true insanity. The universes had been breached first and it was a joint effort to break into the inter-dimensional storage area. He wondered if that was what happened to Simon’s universe.

Static and an unfamiliar voice came over the intercom. “…all ships…inter-dimensional breach in progress…”

Jack had to agree from the readings. He checked the ground for the technology causing or affecting the breach locally. It took a few minutes to locate the camouflaged base. From the scan details, hitting it directly wouldn’t work. Jack fired at the ground. The ice cracked and the mobile base lifted off the ground.

Simon fired as a different target in the distance. It fired back striking his ship, and forcing him to land. 

“… Gray Harkness. Scan … Bose-Einstein...” 

The speaker was probably Kylia’s husband. Jack smiled. From what she said, her mother-in-law was a Sarkisian, and he had a background in science. 

Jack had to reconfigure the scanners. The condensate was an unusual form of matter used to study the universe. Particles were slowed to nearly absolute zero which made studying them easier. It didn’t take much to find. The temperature where all movement ceased was a lot colder than Antarctica. 

“Reinforcements coming in over land,” the general announced.”

“Cold weather gear arrived from Global,” Simon said. “I’m turning off my radio.”

Jack targeted another concealed base with condensate reading. The ice cracked beneath it, knocking it over. He targeted the underside hoping it was an easier target. It exploded, sending a shock wave through the air. He struggled to maintain altitude. 

“I need gear,” Jack said over the open com.

“Sending,” Keara said. “I’ll have robots on the ground as soon as possible.

Landing was rough. When the equipment arrived in the back of the ship, he changed. The parka and layers of clothes were similar to what he wore north of Scandinavia and would blend with the surroundings. In a matter of hours, he’d been at both ends of the Earth and above it. He smiled thinking of the mile-high club jokes he’d annoy Ianto with when it was all over. Planning something for Valentine’s Day would go over better, he thought absently, although he had no idea what they should do. Their vacations lately hadn’t gone well.

He stepped from the warship and donned sunglasses to protect against the glaring white snow. He checked the energy cells in his weapon. He wouldn’t get many shots, but the damage would count. 

Accessing his wrist-strap required pushing up his sleeve and exposing his skin to the cold. He didn’t have another choice. He flipped it open and scanned the area. A memory tugged as he reviewed obviously advanced and alien technology in the area. Frustrated with his memory, he closed it. Then he tapped his modified ear com.

“Scan the area and send John the readings.”

“We’re seeing Rift activity. I haven’t seen anything like it.” She reconsidered. “Yes, I have. There is someone with a Rift ability similar to Anwen’s in one of the affected universes.”

“Is there any way to counter it?”

Keara hesitated. “No.”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Luc Sarkisian growled in frustration. The attackers were fucking with them. The computer hack from Jerard must have infected the sensors with a virus. Three-fourths of the attacks weren’t real. They couldn’t remote access the area CCTV or request help without risk of passing on the virus. When he got a hold of his cousin, it would be bloody.

“I have a crazy idea,” Kailen said.

“How crazy?” Luc asked using different scanners to evaluate incoming. The virus was not coordinating results between unrelated scans. Comparing air density to solar radiation made his brain hurt.

“Your mother’s isolated system has software capable of affecting the system. I disabled it when I first got here. It could potentially override the virus.”

“Or it could let them in.”

Kailen paused. “Your mum died in that raid, Luc. There is nothing that proves she let them in. If she was in on it, they didn’t have to kill her.”

Luc closed his eyes. “Do we have an alternative?”

“Pray.”

“Do it.”

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Soldier Keara looked at the Other version of herself. They needed another pilot. Simon’s people were protecting the station. The general was over Antarctica by himself. Simon and Jack were grounded. Kol was defending the Observatory. Robert wouldn’t get back in time. That left her to take the last of the alien ships and head for Alaska. From the readings, they were powering a portal big enough for reinforcements.

“Can you coordinate?”

Other nodded, accepting the headset. 

“If you can’t, bring John up.”

“How did this happen?” The Other asked quietly.

Soldier Keara exhaled. “No matter how strong we are or how much we plan, we don’t know everything. You couldn’t have prepared for a Time Agency from another universe waging a multiple universe war on an inter-dimensional pocket in space time.”

“Anwen could have died.”

She did not have time for the Other’s psychotic obsession. “Check Dublin’s replication of land units. With Nova Scotia having problems, you have to run them from here.”

 

** Antarctica **

Jack Harkness approached a confrontation. A woman he identified by her voice had a weapon trained on Simon and was making demands. Something about her was familiar. It tugged at an unpleasant memory that flickered in the back of his mind.

“Simon can’t call off the assault. This is my universe.”

The woman sighed. “You’re not in Cardiff.”

Another ship exploded in the distance, interrupting Jack briefly. “No.”

“Simon’s pet alien doesn’t think much of you.”

“Neither does Simon.” Jack looked around the area. There was a problem; she was buying time.

“Then why do you care?”

That was a really long list. “My granddaughter in the universe you’re planning on destroying needs to go home to her husband.”

That threw the woman. “What?”

“The Torchwood Institute in the universe you’re trying to destroy send out help requests to Torchwood in other universes.” It sounded good. 

Her translator garbled her original response. “Bullshit.”

“Multiple versions of Torchwood are actively hunting you.” Then he heard the stealth vehicle. It purred softly like a large cat. “You can’t kill me. Harming Simon won’t win this.”

She turned and placed her back to a wall of ice and snow. “We already won.”

“No. For someone working in a Time Agency you don’t know much about time.” He paused briefly. “I’ve been on this planet for more than a hundred years. Every major decision creates a parallel universe. In each one is a version of me you can’t kill.” Jack took a moment. “The exponential growth is astronomical. And you’ve been discovered. If you think Simon is bad, try taking on a version of us that’s immortal. Your people killed John in front of his son. We will hunt you to the last person standing.”

“You hate him.”

“No. I could have left John to die. Instead, I walked into that disintegrating building on Bear Island and carried him out. My feelings are different not gone.” Jack hoped her opinion of him was based on Simon. “Not only are you faced with versions of me you can’t kill, you did the one thing we won’t forgive you for.”

Jack felt the stealth vehicle approach from behind. It rumbled the ground slightly and kicked up snow. 

“We won.”

 

** Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada **

Tears welled in Luc Sarkisian’s eyes for the first time in memory. His mother’s software did it. Kailen had a lot of work ahead of him, but they were clear. He needed to focus and assess the immediate situation first. 

The com panel blinked. He tapped it. “Luc, this is Monty.” His older cousin sounded confused. “Alaska is under attack from another universe. Could you send drones?” Someone spoke in the background. “Azrael says I’m in Nigeria. Why did the angel of death take me to Africa?”

Luc leaned on the counter and laughed as tears streamed down his face.

Eryn stepped into the lab. “Luc?”

“Tell Kailen to redirect the drones to Alaska.” Luc crouched down and rested his head on the counter.

“Are you all right?”

 

** Antarctica **

Then Jack Harkness heard the first line of a song and realized maintenance bots were falling. He and Simon simultaneous took advantage of the bizarre distraction and rushed the woman. She stared passed Jack as the bot, resembling a large automated vacuum cleaner, detonated on top of the stealth vehicle. Jack took her weapon. Simon restrained her.

“I get knocked down, but I get up again.” Boom. “You are never gonna keep me down.” Boom. 

“What’s happening?” Simon asked.

Boom.

Jack laughed. “My son’s boyfriend has really bad taste in music.” 

Boom.

Simon set a gloved hand over his face as the ground shook. 

“You’re insane,” she muttered as robotic ground troops joined the party.


	32. Chapter 32

** Whitehall Cabinet Building; London, England **

** Thursday, February 10, 2021 **

Jack Harkness sat in the prime minister’s office next to Rex. Hazel Bransom entered, crossed the room and sat behind her desk with a stack of folders. She folded her hands in front of her, looking like she had no idea what to say. 

After hesitating, she said, “Explain this to me.”

“Gordon-Glen, a corporation founded in England, did research starting with aquatic aliens.” Rex said. “The bioweapon was created using secretions from the captive aliens. Children were exposed to bioweapon to produce antibodies to create a flawed miracle treatment. The end product has limited effectiveness. The chances of surviving sane are related to the patient’s age and other criteria.” He paused. “The stepson of a Gordon-Glen executive stole the research and launched a black market version in Cardiff.”

Which was mostly true, Jack thought.

Bransom stared at them. “I’ve received reports from Norway, Canada and the United States. Each have numerous witnesses to armed conflicts. There was a major battle over Antarctica in violation of the international treaty and no one knows who was fighting. That’s in addition to the warehouse in Denmark, two islands, one of which was completely destroyed, and the attack in Ireland.”

Jack folded his hands. “Dr. Nelson, Torchwood’s community liaison, has written a press release.”

“Is it true?” the prime minister asked.

“No.” Jack smiled. “Rogue members of temporary law enforcement from another universe were using our planet to attack an inter-dimensional pocket in space-time in an attempt to access technology from a dimension we don’t have the science to perceive. They provided knowledge and tech to Earth corporations in return for soldiers and other resources to wage a multiple universe war.” 

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Ma’am,” Rex said, “No one will believe the truth.”

Bransom pinched the bridge of her nose. “What about the accusations, Mr. Masterson?”

“Ianto Jones has bad taste in men, ma’am, but nothing has been done to him. Him and Jack have been in a committed relationship for a year-and-a-half. Gwen Cooper has known them a long time and will attest to that.” Rex paused. “I spoke to DC Cowley and Dr. Floyd. Cowley is straight. Floyd is in a relationship and admitted to both starting rumors and adding to them.”

“Why?”

“At one point a questionable constable named Trent Shone was actively interfering in Torchwood cases. Dr. Floyd started a rumor that Shone was jealous because Jack was only interested in Cowley.” Rex smiled. “Cowley allowed the rumors because it gave him an excuse when passing information to Torchwood.” He paused. “None of the accusations were accurate.” He took a moment. “If a person got close enough to Mr. Jones to identify he had difficulties from past trauma, he or she would know how inaccurate and painful those accusations would be. It was an intentional psychological attack on Mr. Jones and therefore Jack.”

“It’s been suggested you’re to close to this.”

“I’ve known Jack a long time. We don’t get along. But I learned a lot from him over the years.” Rex paused. “It’s easy to make assumptions about a person who’s different.”

“You think he’s a competent leader?”

“Yes. Why? The planet is still here. The insane situation we’re discussing today is one of many Jack has resolved since he was recruited by Torchwood.”

Bransom looked less than convinced. “What was done with the rogue agents?” 

“They were turned over to a former agent, from their universe, who is starting something similar to Torchwood in an effort to repair the damage they caused.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“The European Union and the United States are standing by their recommendation for head of Torchwood London.”

Rex looked at Jack.

Jack shrugged. “He can have the paperwork.”

 

Rex Masterson remained seated after the Prime Minister Bransom asked Jack to leave. The promotion was nice. Moving to London was annoying, but the benefits were better. He didn’t look forward to the inevitable bureaucracy. But he could deal with anything. He’d already proven that.

“Captain Harkness is not taking this seriously?”

“It’s not that, ma’am. He’s built an impressive network of complicated and unusual specialists. They won’t object to me coordinating the London facility.” Rex explained. “But they won’t accept a change in leadership. Torchwood isn’t a government agency or a military. It’s an eccentric family. Jack is the head of that family.”

“What if something happens to him?” Bransom asked.

“Then God have mercy. Torchwood won’t.” That might keep the government from trying to kill him again.

 

** Torchwood Global; Earth Orbit **

Jack Harkness shook Simon’s hand. The Other version of himself had a long, hard road ahead of him. Attempting to fix his universe had been discussed, but it was unlikely and would probably create a number of serious problems. Jack could sympathize. He’d never see home again. He changed the past irreversibly. 

“Oldaria knows of a location built with ancient technology that we can use as a base. It was once called Redemption by a race as old as the Time Lords. It’s in our dimension but not in a specific universe.”

“Do you have an idea how bad the damage is?”

Simon shook his head slightly. “Between the Time Agency and the psychic time traveler, it will take years to assess. Fixing it will require workarounds rather than time change.” He paused. “We will have recruit and train agents.”

“We’re here if you need us.”

“Keep John safe.”

Jack smiled. “Would that have worked with the man you knew?”

“No,” Simon said sadly.

“I’ll do what I can,” Robert said, approaching them. 

“Make sure he has a job, someone that cares about him, and doesn’t get to bored.”

Jack nodded. “We can manage that.”

Simon turned and than stopped as he remembered something. “The beings that you call ancients are part of the fabric of space time. They were viewed as gods because they can manipulate reality.”

“How do you know?”

“I spent six memorable weeks with a gorgeous woman on a small planet on the other side of the galaxy.” Simon smiled fondly. “She called herself Demeter and said she was helping the locals terraform their planet. They had few resources and were starving to death. I watched her turn a barely hospitable planet into a lush paradise.” He paused as if remembering. “She asked to be worshiped in return.”

“What happened?” Jack asked wondering how much was true.

“They built her a temple and declared her their god.”

“Right,” Robert said as Simon walked away.

“Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture.” 


End file.
